iiirilliTiDN 


Gordon  Balch  N  evi  n 


2^, 


A  PRIMER  OF  ORGAN  REGISTRATION 


Chapel  of  the  Intercession,  New  York 

(Austin  Organ  Co.,  Hartford) 


A    PRIMER    OF    ORGAN 
REGISTRATION 


BY 

GORDON    BALCH    NEVIN 

WITH 

NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  A 
DICTIONARY  OF  ORGAN  STOPS 


BOSTON 

OLIVER   DITSON   COMPANY 


NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

CHAS.  H.  DITSON  &  CO.  LYON  &  HEALY 


Copyright  MCMXX 
By  Oliver  Ditson  Company 

International  Copyright  Secured 


CONTENTS 

Preface    I 

A  Brief  Survey  of  the  Subject Ill 

Chapter  I — First  Steps  in  Registration 1 

Chapter  II — Tone  Classification  and  Pitch 10 

Chapter  III— Registration   of   Exercises    in   Duet   and   Trio 

Form      . 17 

Chapter  IV — Mass  Registration;  Tone  Families 21 

Chapter  V — Two-color  and  Solo  Effects       31 

Chapter  VI — The  Use  of  Couplers 38 

Chapter  VII — Choir,  Solo  Voice  and  Hymn  Accompanying  47 

Chapter  VIII — Some  Practical  Suggestions 55 

Chapter  IX- — The  Crescendo  Pedal 65 

Chapter  X — A  Glance  at  Organ  Construction 69 

Chapter  XI — Dictionary  of  Organ  Stops 83 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

ORGAN  FRONTS  iV,(! 

Chapel  of  the  Intercession,  New  York  ....    Frontispiece 

Emmanuel  Church,  Boston 10 

First  Baptist  Church,  Pittsburgh 17 

First  Church  of  Christ    Scientist,  The,  Boston      ....  21 

St.  Thomas'  Church,  New  York 31 

Oliver  Holden's  Organ,  circa  1790,  Boston G9 

Great  Organ  in  Music  Hall,  18G3,  Boston 73 

ORGAN   CONSOLES 

Console  with  stops  arranged  in  tiers 38 

Console  with  stops  arranged  in  jambs  at  45° 47 

Console  with  inclined  manuals  and  stop-keys 55 

Console  with  stops  operated  by  tilting  tablets 65 

Pneumatic  Coupler-Stack  showing  valves  and  tubing     ...  83 

FIGURES  AND  DIAGRAMS 

Action,  adjustable  combination  stop      78 

Action,  electro-pneumatic 7G 

Action,  tracker       71 

Action,  tubular-pneumatic 74 

Bellows  and  Feeders 70 

Console,  inefficient  and  efficient  movements  at  the 61 

Couplers,  four  types  of  control  of 6 

Couplers,  analogy  of  electric  light  switches  to 39 

Pipes,  Clarabella,    Clarinet,    Diapason,    Gedeckt    and    Gems- 
horn    86 

Pipes,  Doppel  Floete,  section  of 81 

Pipes,  Oboe,  Salicional,  Trumpet  and  Vox  Humana 91 

Pipes,  various  forms  of 12 

Pipes,  Viol,  section  of  small  scale 81 

Registration  Possibilities  for  duels  with  an  organ  of  six 

manual-stops 18 

Relationship  of  clavier  and  organ  proper 2 

Swell-Box,  closed 80 

Swell-Box,  partly  open 80 


PREFACE 

In  preparing  this  Primer  of  Organ  Registration  for  the 
use  of  teachers  and  pupils,  the  author  has  been  led  in  his 
work  by  the  realization  of  two  important  facts:  first, 
that  the  potential  organist  is  greatly  in  need  of  help  in 
grasping  the  principles  of  registration;  second,  that  it  is 
an  utter  physical  impossibility  to  formulate  rules  which 
will  be  operative  in  enough  cases  to  justify  their  own 
existence ! 

The  first  point  is  enlarged  upon  in  the  Brief  Survey 
with  which  this  work  begins.  A  word  on  the  second 
point  may  not  be  inappropriate. 

The  organ  of  today,  wonderful  instrument  that  it  is, 
presents  to  the  careful  investigator  a  range  of  variability 
in  design,  equipment  and  tonal  scope  which  is  without 
even  a  remote  parallel  in  other  musical  instruments. 
Not  only  do  the  voicing  practices  of  various  builders 
offer  the  widest  dissimilarities  but  the  various  instru- 
ments of  any  one  builder  will  abundantly  show  that  any- 
thing approaching  standardization  is  a  dream  for  the 
future. 

It  is  this  very  element  of  dissimilarity  that  faces  him 
who  would  write  a  text-book  on  Organ  Registration;  he 
is  dealing  with  a  varying  number  of  quantities — each 
and  every  one  of  which  is  variable.  In  this  respect  the 
problem  is  vastly  more  difficult  than  would  be,  for  in- 
stance, the  writing  of  a  text-book  on  Orchestration. 
The  Symphony  Orchestra  has  become  a  reasonably  well 
standardized  aggregation  of  units;  its  size  does  not  vary 
greatly  (barring  a  few  "tone-poem"  productions  emanat- 
ing  principally   from  Germanic  sources)   and   its  com- 


PREFACE 

ponent  units  vary  tonally  only  to  the  extent  to  which 
the  human  factor  enters.  Roughly  speaking,  the  tonal 
factors  may  be  said  to  be  constant. 

With  the  organ  there  are  virtually  no  such  things  as 
constant  factors;  every  organ  presents  new  inter- 
relationships between  the  various  units  (stops)  and  it  is 
folly  supreme  to  attempt  to  reduce  these  irreconcilable 
factors  to  a  system.  Until  the  organ  becomes  standardized 
to  a  reasonable  extent  the  complete  text-book  on  registration 
will  be  an  anachronism. 

The  author  has  therefore  refrained  from  advocating 
definite  combinations  of  stops  for  selected  compositions, 
being  well  aware  that  such  directions  would  have  but 
slight  value  and  then  in  only  occasional  circumstances. 

Instead,  the  work  has  been  developed  along  the  modern 
principles  of  self-teaching,  and  aims,  first  and  foremost, 
to  awaken  the  dormant  faculties  of  self-criticism  in  the 
potential  organist  and  thus  cause  him  to  desire  better 
effects  and  to  search  after  them.  The  principles  of 
quantitative  investigating  having  stood  several  of  our 
greatest  inventors  in  good  stead,  it  seems  not  improbable 
that  a  similar  course  maybe  constructive  in  the  art  under 
discussion. 

August  1,  1919  The  Author 


A  BRIEF  SURVEY  OF  THE   SUBJECT 

The  art  of  registration- — that  branch  of  organ  technic 
pertaining  to  the  use  of  the  stops,  couplers  and  accesso- 
ries of  the  modern  organ — is  a  subject  of  great  importance 
in  the  development  of  fine  organ  playing,  and  must, 
indeed,  be  simultaneously  pursued  along  with  the  usual 
mechanical  practice  if  the  desired  perfection  is  to  be 
finally  achieved.  Nevertheless,  most  teachers  will  freely 
admit  that  they  find  it  a  physical  impossibility  to  include 
in  the  already  over-crowded  lesson  period  any  compre- 
hensive instruction  in  this  branch  of  the  art — for  the 
simple  reason  that  every  available  moment  is  required  to 
cover  with  reasonable  thoroughness  the  purely  mechani- 
cal processes. 

Organ  students  as  a  class,  moreover,  are  peculiarly 
and  noticeably  ambitious  to  attain  the  material  evi- 
dences of  success— church  positions  and  the  emoluments 
attending  such  positions,  and  so  are  prone  to  desire  a 
quick  and  early  digital  and  pedal  dexterity  with  which 
to  impress  the  proletariat;  granted  such  desire  it  cannot 
cause  surprise  that  a  branch  of  the  art  so  esthetic  in  its 
nature  often  languishes  in  partial  or  even  greater 
neglect. 

As  all  teachers  know  and  realize,  to  thus  neglect  this 
part  of  organ  study  is  a  great  error — regrettable  in  the 
extreme,  but  the  majority  of  teachers  are  honestly 
unable  to  see  their  way  clear  to  remedy  the  matter,  and 
so  it  is  postponed — temporarily  "shelved"  "until  the 
technic  has  developed  more,"  with  the  inevitable  result 
that  faulty,  stereotyped  methods  are  acquired;  this  must 
be  the  expected  result  unless  from  the  very  first  the 
student's  mind  is  directed  to  new  paths  of  endeavor. 


x  A    BRIEF   SURVEY 

To  wilfully  neglect  the  study  of  registration  is  as 
absurd  as  would  be  the  course  of  one  studying  to  become 
an  orchestral  conductor  who  would  content  himself  with 
a  knowledge  of  the  compass  of  the  various  instruments, 
together  with  the  purely  metronomic  phases  of  his  art — 
time,  rhythm,  accent,  etc.,  and  were  to  disregard  the 
elements  of  tone,  timbre,  relative  strength  and  blending 
properties  of  the  tones  which  he  would  utilize.  It  would 
seem  ridiculous  for  an  embryo  conductor  to  so  pursue  his 
study,  but  not  a  bit  more  so  than  for  the  organ  student  to 
follow  a  course  which  parallels  it  in  all  its  unfortunate 
elements.  Each  is  a  worker  in  tones — a  tonal  artist,  and 
each  must  be  possessor  of  well  trained,  keen  perception, 
nice  discrimination,  and  well  ordered  imagination, 
schooled  to  select  and  blend  with  exquisite  taste. 

This  book  has  been  undertaken  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  existence  of  these  conditions  and  a  desire  to  fur- 
nish some  aid  to  busy  and  earnest  teachers  and  pupils; 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  exhaust  the  possibilities 
of  the  subject,  for  such  a  course  would  have  defeated  the 
aim  of  the  book,  viz:  to  be  a  compact  and  brief  but  easily 
understood  aid — pointing  the  way  to  a  systematic 
progress  in  the  study  of  the  art.  The  work  has  been  cast 
in  such  form  as  to  be  progressive  along  with  the  work 
mapped-out  by  the  teacher;  from  the  very  first  lesson  the 
student  is  aided  in  comprehending  what  always  appears 
to  be  a  maze  of  stops  and  accessories. 

The  Dictionary  of  Stops,  with  which  the  work  con- 
cludes, has  been  made  "inter-locking,"  so  to  speak,  in 
as  far  as  was  possible,  and  presents  a  refuge  to  the  be- 
wildered pupil  who — unable  to  find  a  desired  stop 
needed  in  some  composition — helplessly  asks:  "What 
stop  shall  I  use  instead?"  Presenting  with  each  stop 
treated  a  list  of  possible  substitutes  which  may  be  used, 
the  pupil  is  enabled  not  only  to  proceed  with  his  practice 
uninterrupted,  but  by  frequent  turning  to  the  dictionary, 
he  acquires  a  working  knowledge  of  the  names  of  stops, 


A    BRIEF    SURVEY  xi 

and — more  important — by  using  the  substitutes  sug- 
gested gains  some  idea  of  the  tone  of  the  stop  wished  for 
by  the  use  of  the  nearest  substitute  for  it,  thus  becoming  in 
a  measure  prepared  in  advance  as  to  the  quality  of  tone 
which  may  be  expected  in  the  desired  stop  itself;  this  is 
a  very  elementary  principle,  but  a  well-tested  one. 

Nothing  is  advocated  herein  which  has  not  been  well 
tried  in  the  furnace  of  practical  teaching  experience; 
much  of  the  work  is  the  outgrowth  of  ideas  which  have 
originated  during  actual  teaching,  and  the  other  ideas — 
those  formulated  away  from  the  studio — have  first  been 
well  and  thoroughly  tested  before  being  set  down  here. 
It  is  the  author's  hope  that  the  book  may  be  of  aid.  to 
his  colleagues,  and  of  help  to  the  anny  of  students — the 
earnest  pupils  who  make  teaching  worth  while. 


A  PRIMER  OF  ORGAN 
REGISTRATION 

CHAPTER   I 

First  Steps  in  Registration 

You  have  had  your  first  lesson  in  organ  playing;  very 
likely  it  was  taken  at  the  instrument  over  which  your 
teacher  presides,  and  the  problem  now  before  you  is  to 
begin  work  on  the  instrument  on  which  your  practising 
will  be  done. 

Among  other  things  your  teacher  has  doubtless  ex- 
plained to  you  that  the  keyboards  on  which  the  hands 
perform  are  correctly  termed  Manuals,  you  should 
immediately  commence  using  the  correct  terms  when 
speaking  of  the  different  parts  of  the  organ,  and  so  should 
always  refer — when  speaking  of  the  actual  claviers — to 
the  Swell  Manual,  the  Great  Manual,  as  the  case  may 
be,  thus  differentiating  the  clavier  from  the  portion  of 
the  organ  which  it  controls. 

You  have  doubtless  expressed  curiosity  as  to  the 
reason  for  the  multiplicity  of  these  manuals  (from  two 
to  four  being  commonly  found,  and  occasionally  even 
five)  and  have  been  told  that  the  varying  number  of 
manuals  is  made  necessary  by  the  great  elasticity  in  size 
of  the  organ,  and  that  the  increase  of  size  so  prevalent 
to-day  has  made  imperative  more  keyboards  for  the  easy 
and  facile  handling  of  these  monsters.  Authorities  differ 
as  to  the  exact  number  of  stops  which  should  be  appor- 
tioned to  a  particular  section  of  the  organ,  but  it  is 
pretty  generally  accepted  that  two  manuals  are  sufficient 


2  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

for  an  organ  of  about  twenty-five  stops,  and  that  a 
larger  number  of  stops  would  best  be  distributed  upon 
three  manuals;  similarly  that  above  forty  or  forty-five 
stops  it  is  well  to  provide  four  manuals  for  the  conven- 
ience of  the  player.     Rapid  changes  of  tone-color  or 

H 


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M 
1 L 


M 


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ti 


- 


If 


Clavier  or  Manual 


Hoe  Organ  Proper 


FIG.  1.  RELATIONSHIP  OF  CLAVIER  AND  ORGAN  PROPER 


power,  the  necessity  for  quick  and  easy  access  to  "solo 
stops,"  these  and  similar  considerations  account  for  the 
varying  number  of  manuals  found  in  organs  today. 

As  a  step  in  comprehending  the  organ  as  a  whole,  the 
author  would  advise  that  you  persuade  your  teacher  or 
some  organ  expert  to  show  you  the  internal  mechanism 
of  an  organ  and  explain  the  general  operation  of  the 
same;  the  organ  of  today  is  such  a  vast  and  bewildering 


FIRST   STEPS  3 

piece  of  mechanism,  the  operation  of  the  action  is  now 
so  silent  and  unobtrusive,  and  the  whole  construction 
so  mystifying  to  the  uninitiated  that  a  visit  to  the  internal 
departments  cannot  help  but  be  enlightening — par- 
ticularly if  the  operation  is  explained  step  by  step  by  an 
expert.  In  this  way  you  will  gain  some  understanding 
of  the  results  following  upon  varying  processes  at  the 
console,  and  at  the  same  time  a  wholesome  respect  for 
the  minds  that  fabricate  such  marvelous  pieces  of 
mechanism  and  no  less  a  respect  for  those  who  cause  it 
to  speak  forth  its  inspiring  harmonies;  moreover  you  will 
be  more  inclined  to  handle  it  with  the  respect  and  care 
that  it  deserves.  Do  not,  however,  go  exploring  by 
yourself — lest  it  require  the  services  of  an  expert  to  right 
matters  after  you  are  through! 

Some  book  of  progressive  technical  material,  fre- 
quently but  incorrectly  called  a  "method,"  has  un- 
doubtedly been  designated  for  you  to  use  in  commencing 
your  work — such  an  one  most  likely  as  The  Organ  by 
Sir  John  Stainer  (edited  and  enlarged  by  James  H. 
Rogers),  and  you  have  been  assigned  a  certain  amount 
of  work  to  prepare.  Your  next  problem  is  to  discover 
"what  stops  to  use"  in  beginning  your  work,  and  with 
that  problem  will  begin  your  initiation  into  the  mysteries 
of  registration. 

Here  at  the  very  start  we  will  diverge  from  the  usual 
cut-and-dried  formulae,  and  show  you  how  by  use  of 
simple  common-sense  principles  you  will  be  able  to 
quickly  grasp  the  essence  of  the  matter,  and  at  the  same 
time  begin  without  loss  of  time  upon  your  technical 
work — gaining  familiarity  with  the  different  stops  as 
you  go  along. 

Seat  yourself  at  the  console  of  the  organ  at  which 
your  studying  will  be  done  and  turn  to  your  book  of 
exercises; the  first  thing  you  will  take  up  will  undoubtedly 
be  the  rudiments  of  pedal  tcchnic — or  as  it  is  crudely  put 
— "playing  with  the  feet!"     In  The  Organ,  these  exer- 


4  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

cises  are  found  on  page  37,  headed:  "Exercises  for 
Finding  Pedal-Keys  without  Looking  at  the  Feet"; 
now  how  will  you  proceed?  A  moment  ago  we  spoke  of 
the  varying  number  of  manuals  provided  for  the  control 
of  the  organ;  each  of  these  manuals  is  provided  with  its 
own  set  of  stops  for  the  controlling  of  the  section  of  the 
organ  to  which  it  appertains;  this  being  the  case,  and 
with  the  point  firmly  in  mind  that  the  organ  as  a  whole  is 
composed  of  a  varying  number  of  smaller  organs — each 
complete  in  itself,  though  inter-related,  would  it  not  be 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  there  would  be  stops  pro- 
vided controlling  that  portion  of  the  organ  appertaining  to 
the  pedal  clavier?  This,  in  fact,  is  exactly  what  you  will 
find  to  be  the  case,  and  so  we  will  direct  you  to  look  over 
the  stops  carefully  and  see  if  you  cannot  find  some  of 
them  with  the  abbreviation  Ped.  inscribed  on  them,  or 
perhaps  a  group  of  stops  with  no  such  inscription,  but 
grouped  under  one  common  name-plate  with  the  word 
Pedal  thereon.  There  may  be  but  a  few  stops  so  desig- 
nated,— indeed  on  the  very  smallest  organs  there  may 
be  but  one  such  stop!  But  do  not  let  that  alarm  you; 
the  problem  is  not  one  of  resources  but  rather  of  utiliza- 
tion of  resources. 

Having  located  the  Pedal  Stops  now  search  for  a 
stop  labeled  Bourdon — 16'  or  Subbass — 16  ft.  Having 
found  the  stop,  draw  it  and  then  try  out  the  quality  of 
the  tone  by  playing  a  few  notes  in  different  portions  of 
the  pedal-board,  listening  to  the  quality  of  the  tone, 
taking  note  of  the  amount  of  volume,  and  striving  to 
fix  in  the  memory  a  picture  of  the  tone  of  the  stop. 

If  there  be  other  pedal  stops,  draw  them  in  rotation, 
testing  them  out  in  the  same  way  in  all  parts  of  the 
pedal-board,  and  comparing  each  stop  with  its  neighbors; 
do  this  several  times  over,  and  while  doing  it  strive  to 
associate  the  name  of  the  stop  with  the  quality  of  tone 
produced  when  it  is  drawn,  and  vice  versa. 

You  will  discover  that  a  majority  of  the  stops,  perhaps 


FIRST   STEPS  5 

even  all  of  them,  are  of  16  ft.  pitch  —  so  marked;  in  the 
next  chapter  we  shall  go  into  matters  of  pitch  a  little 
more  carefully,  but  at  present  it  will  be  sufficient  if  you 
take  careful  cognizance  of  the  fact  that  these  stops  are 
(particularly  in  the  lower  octave)  of  a  very  deep  tone — 
somewhat  hard  to  recognize  accurately  as  to  pitch,  and 
it  may  occur  to  you  that  there  must  be  some  way  of 
adding  to  these  stops  other  stops  of  more  easily  recogniz- 
able pitch.  Your  glance  falls  on  the  manuals  and  you 
think  of  the  bright,  clear  tones  which  you  have  heard 
issue  from  those  parts  of  the  organ,  and  you  wonder  if 
there  is  not  some  way  of  combining  or  coupling  these 
higher  pitches  with  the  grave  tones  of  the  pedal  organ. 
And  in  that  one  word  Couple  you  have  the  key  to  the 
situation;  a  coupler  is  what  is  needed  to  achieve  the 
desired  end.  Look  over  the  console  for  a  coupler;  it  may 
be  in  the  form  of  a  stop,  a  stop-key,  a  domino-tablet,  or 
a  piston  (see  Fig.  2)  with  the  inscription:  Sw.  to  Ped. 
(Swell  to  Pedal) 

You  have  it?  If  it  is  a  stop,  draw  it;  if  a  stop-key, 
press  it  down;  if  a  domino-tablet,  press  in  at  the  bottom; 
if  a  piston — there  will  be  an  on  and  an  off  piston — press 
the  on  piston.  You  have  now  effected  a  mechanical  con- 
nection which  will  permit  you  to  play  from  the  pedal- 
clavier,  or  peda\-board  as  it  is  generally  called,  that 
section  or  unit  of  the  organ  primarily  commanded  by 
the  Swell  manual.  It  now  remains  but  to  draw  a  suitable 
stop  or  stops  from  the  Swell  organ  (with  which  your 
connection  is  made)  to  furnish  the  brightening  effect,  and 
you  are  ready  to  proceed  with  your  practice  of  the  pedal 
exercises. 

However,  delay  for  a  moment  your  work  on  these 
studies,  and  devote  a  brief  space  of  time  to  familiarizing 
yourself  with  the  stops  of  the  Sicell  section — in  just  the 
same  icay  as  you  did  with  the  Pedal  stops  a  moment  ago. 
Proceed  in  the  same  manner;  first  locate  the  stops, 
either  under  a  common  name-plate,  or  each   with   the 


A   PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


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FIG.  2.  THE  FOUR  TYPES  OF  COUPLER  CONTROL 

a,  Stop;  6,  Tablet;  c,  Stop-Key;  d,  Piston 


FIRST    STEPS  7 

common  abbreviation  Sw.    engraved  upon  it.      Then, 
having  located  the  stops,  submit  them  to  a    thorough 
testing  out,    holding  a  common    chord   in   the   middle 
portion  of  the  clavier  (See  Fig.  3)  and  drawing  the  stops 
in   rotation,    holding    each    a   moment   and     fl 
striving  to  associate  the  tone  which  you  hear    ~$s     \j — { 
with  the  name  on  the  stop.     Go   over   these 
stops  several  times  in  the  same  manner  as 
you  did  with  the  Pedal  stops,  concentrating  your  mind 
on  the  perception  of  the  qualities  of  tone  you  hear.     Do 
not   slight   this   apparently   simple   process:   few    realize 
how  long  is  the  time  necessary  to  train  the  ear  to  hear 
and  the  mind  to  recognize. 

You  are  now  ready  to  proceed  with  the  pedal  exer- 
cises; you  have  drawn  the  Pedal  Bourdon  16  ft.,  added 
the  Sw.  to  Fed.  coupler,  and  you  will  now  add  one  of  the 
Swell  stops, — which  one  being  not  so  important  as  that 
it  be  of  bright,  clear  tone, — such  an  one  as  the  4  ft-  Flute 
(Harmonic  form  generally  found  on  the  Swell)  and  pro- 
ceed with  your  exercises  as  directed  by  your  teacher. 
Go  through  your  entire  assignment  of  pedal  exercises 
with  this  registration. 

But  when  you  are  ready  to  again  start  through  the 
exercises  most  certainly  select  some  other  stop  from  tlie 
Swell  stops,  such  as  the  Salicional  8  ft.,  or  the  Oboe  8  ft., 
and  again  go  through  the  entire  assignment.  And  so  on : 
the  next  time  changing  to  some  other  stop,  the  Open 
Diapason  8  ft.,  the  Flageolet  2  ft.,  etc.,  etc.  The  par- 
ticular stop  used  is  not  the  important  matter;  it  is  the 
constant  changing  (at  widely  spaced  intervals,  at  first, 
it  is  true)  of  the  stops  that  is  important.  By  so  doing 
you  will  begin  to  study  tones  as  well  as  mechanics  from 
the  very  start,  and  will  thus  make  doubly  good  use  of  your 
time.  This  seems  a  point  of  childish  simplicity  on  which 
to  dilate,  but  the  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  during  these 
early  hours  of  practice  the  seeds  of  slovenly,  careless 
registration  are  all  too  often  sown;  the  pupil  draws  some- 


8  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

thing  which  will  make  an  audible  noise — and  with  that 
one  combination  is  content  to  let  the  matter  of  registra- 
tion rest.  How  much  better  is  a  plan,  simple  it  is  true, 
which  takes  for  its  prime  principle  that  of  seeking 
variety  from  the  very  start!  And  this  is  what  we  are 
urging  upon  you. 

And  now  let  us  carry  the  idea  to  its  logical  conclusion : 
on  the  second  day  of  your  practice  begin  changing  the 
stops  a  little  more  frequently — let  us  say  in  the  middle 
of  the  assignment  as  well  as  at  the  end  of  each  repetition. 
The  next  day,  increase  the  frequency  a  little  more  until, 
at  the  end  of  a  week,  you  are  changing  stops  with  each 
exercise. 

Having  done  this,  transfer  your  attention  to  another 
manual,  using  next  the  Great;  with  this  transference  of 
attention,  your  need  of  the  Swell  to  Pedal  coupler  will 
temporarily  vanish,  but  a  similar  need  for  a  coupler 
rendering  available  the  Great  stops  on  the  Pedal  Clavier 
will  arise,  and  you  will  of  course  find  the  Gt.  to  Ped. 
coupler  and  bring  it  into  play,  silencing  at  the  same  time 
the  Sw.  to  Ped.  coupler  which  you  have  been  using. 
Proceed  with  the  Great  stops  in  the  same  way,  and  do 
not  be  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  with  it!  Stick  to  single 
stops  for  the  present;  it  will  be  less  confusing,  you  will 
gain  a  better  knowledge  of  their  individualities,  and  you 
will  have  ample  opportunity  for  experimentation  with 
them  in  combinations  at  a  later  time.  Pursue  this 
method  with  reasonable  thoroughness  and  you  will  soon 
notice  that  your  hand  seeks  the  stops  with  a  degree  of 
facility  and  that  you  are  beginning  to  know  what  to 
expect  when  you  draw  any  given  stop;  this  is  an  indica- 
tion that  without  undue  effort  on  your  part  you  are 
absorbing  the  rudiments  of  tone-color — a  knowledge 
that  you  can  acquire  in  no  other  way  than  by  some 
system  that  has  as  its  basis  repetition  and  comparison, 
and  which  is  made  available  for  you  in  this  very  easy 
form. 


FIRST    STEPS  £ 

In  connection  with  this  work  you  may  be  given 
exercises  leading  to  the  formation  of  a  correct  manual 
touch;  in  The  Organ  by  Stainer,  edited  by  Rogers,  this 
matter  comprises  pages  43  to  47  inc.  With  these,  too, 
proceed  in  a  similar  manner,  using  single  stops,  changing 
them  frequently  and  concentrating  your  attention  on 
hearing  what  the  tones  really  sound  like.  A  word  of 
caution:  avoid  for  the  present  stops  of  16  ft.  pitch,  also 
Mixture  stops  (3-rank  Cornet,  4-rank  Mixture,  etc.)  and 
very  powerful  stops  of  the  Trumpet  and  Tuba  type;  this 
caution  is  given  because  these  stops  are  not  suitable  for 
protracted  use  in  such  exercises  as  you  are  using  at  this 
early  stage.  It  is  also  well  to  avoid  stops  of  2  ft.  and 
2  and  2-3rds  ft.  pitch  for  use  in  these  exercises,  their 
pitch  being  so  high. 

In  the  next  chapter  matters  of  pitch  will  be  taken  up, 
but  for  some  little  time  you  should  confine  yourself  to 
a  thorough  working-out  and  study  of  the  prime  stops  as 
suggested  above;  this  work  requires  several  weeks  at 
least,  and  should  not  be  slighted.  The  study  of  prime 
tones  is  the  rock  foundation  of  a  sure  technic  of  registra- 
tion; its  value  cannot  be  over-estimated. 


CHAPTER   II 

Tone  Classification  and  Pitch 

During  the  investigations  outlined  in  the  first  chapter 
you  have  discovered  that  the  stops  command  tones  of 
varying  quality,  volume  and  pitch;  we  shall  in  this 
chapter  show  you  how  the  apparently  numberless 
characteristics  of  the  stops  may  be  very  easily  reduced 
to  groups  and  classified  with  ease. 

Let  us  first  consider  the  question  of  pitch.  As  we 
noted  in  the  preceding  chapter,  there  are  to  be  found 
on  the  stop-knobs  numerals  denoting  the  pitch-length  of 
the  respective  stops,  viz.:  16  ft.,  8  ft.,  4  ft.,  and  2  ft., 
together  with  these  other  designations:  3  rank,  4  rank, 
etc.  The  former  relate  to  the  pitch-length  of  the  stop 
in  question,  the  latter  to  the  number  of  ranks  of  pipes 
present  in  the  particular  stop  under  consideration. 

In  the  first  class  mentioned  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph, the  numerals  indicate  the  theoretical  (and  rather 
arbitrary)  measurement  of  the  tone-length  of  the  pipe 
producing  the  lowest  note  of  the  particular  stop  (CC  on 
the  manuals  and  CCC  on  the  pedals).  Note  that  this 
length  is  only  expressed  with  approximate  accuracy,  and 
is  not  by  any  means  a  mathematical  statement  of  the 
length;  there  are  countless  variations  from  the  denoted 
length  due  to  different  methods  of  construction  in  the 
different  pipes,  and  also  the  employment  of  various  wind- 
pressures  and  styles  of  voicing.  These  all  have  their 
effect  on  the  exact  length  of  the  tone- wave,  but  as  we 
are  considering  these  matters  from  a  viewpoint  in  which 
questions  of  physics  and  science  have  little  place  it  will 
be  sufficient  for  you  to  remember  that  the  figures  denote 


Emmanuel  Church,  Boston. 

(Casavant  Freres,  St.  Hyacinth,  Quebec) 


TONE    CLASSIFICATION  11 

the  approximate  tone-length  of  the  lowest  pipe  in  the  par- 
ticular stop  under  consideration. 

With  regard  to  the  second  class  of  nomenclature 
referred  to  above,  a  word  of  explanation  is  advisable.  In 
the  earlier  days  of  organ  building  it  was  discovered  that 
an  organ  composed  entirely  of  stops  of  normal  (8  ft.) 
j) itch  was  incapable  of  producing  effects  of  any  degree  of 
brilliancy;  this,  as  is  now  known,  was  the  result  of  the 
very  low  wind  pressures  employed — which  wind  pres- 
sures made  it  impossible  to  develop  from  the  pipes  then 
in  use  an  adequate  degree  of  harmonic  brilliancy.  The 
tones  achieved  were  sweet,  mellow  and  pleasing  most 
assuredly,  but  a  full  organ  composed  of  them  was  dull 
and  lacked  "fire"  and  incisiveness;  to  remedy  this  condi- 
tion was  adopted  the  expedient  of  including  stops  speak- 
ing the  octave  above  the  normal  pitch.  This  was  found 
to  be  a  great  step  forward  and,  very  naturally,  the  plan 
was  extended  and  stops  of  two  octaves  above  normal 
pitch  were  included.  From  this  start  it  naturally  came 
about  that  the  builders  soon  included  stops  speaking  a 
twelfth  (octave  and  fifth)  above  unison,  and  later  other 
stops  producing  tones  found  necessary  by  the  scientific 
analysis  of  the  production  of  tone-harmonics  generated 
(in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree)  by  a  prime  tone  and  neces- 
sary to  its  usefulness.  Prime  tone  devoid  of  any  har- 
monic development  (were  such  tone  possible  to  produce) 
would  be  entirely  useless,  for  it  is  the  presence  of  these 
harmonics  or  overtones — in  varying  degrees  in  different 
tones — which  gives  the  distinguishing  characteristics  to 
the  tones.  Mixture  stops  therefore  were  adopted  as  a 
means  of  supplying  artificially  certain  of  the  harmonics 
needed  to  give  character  and  brilliancy  to  the  tone;  but 
like  most  excellent  things  they  were  much  abused  and 
over-done,  and  are  today  looked  upon  with  disfavor  in 
many  quarters.  Nevertheless,  they  have  their  sphere  of 
usefulness,  and  when  well  made  and  properly  voiced  they 
add  much  of  richness  to  the  tone  of  the  organ. 


12 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


This  function  of  stops  of  other  than  unison  (or  below 
unison)  pitch  can  be  easily  demonstrated  by  the  pupil 
himself,  and  will  greatly  assist  in  clearing  away  a  point 
of  mystery  which  troubles  many  organ  players  as  well 
as  pupils;  we  will  ask  you  to  seat  yourself  at  the  organ 
and  with  your  own  ears  as  jury,  test  the  case  in  this 
simple  manner:  draw  all  the  stops  of  8  ft.  pitch  on  both 
the  Swell  and  the  Great,  couple  the  Swell  to  the  Great, 


M 


s 


H 


bed  e  f  g 

FIG.  4.    VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  ORGAN  PIPES 

a,  Diapason;  b,  Clarabella;  c,  Viol;  d,  Gedeckt;  e,  Dolce;  /,  Harmonic  Flute; 
g,  Gemshorn;  h,  Cor  Anglais;  (',  Clarinet;  j,  Trumpet. 

and  play  through  on  the  Great  some  simple  hymn, 
chorale,  or  similar  piece  of  music,  listening  carefully  to 
the  resulting  effect.  Immediately  after  this,  add  all  the 
stops  of  4  ft.,  2  and  2/3rds  ft.,  2  ft.,  and  Mixtures 
(Cornet,  Furniture,  Sesquialtera,  etc.,)  if  they  be  present, 
and  again  play  through  the  same  selection  used  a 
moment  ago ;  do  not  your  ears  tell  you  why  we  have  these 
stops  of  higher  pitch  in  organs?     Do  you  not  see  that 


TONE    CLASSIFICATION  13 

without  these  elements  of  clear  pitch  definition,  so 
clarifying  in  their  effect,  the  organ  would  be  a 
monstrosity? 

In  like  manner  can  be  explained  the  presence  of  stops 
speaking  an  octave  below  unison  pitch  (16  ft.  pitch  for 
the  manuals) — for  these  stops  furnish  the  element  of 
support  necessary,  particularly  in  organs  of  medium  or 
larger  size,  to  prevent  a  top-heavy  or  "screamy"  effect. 
It  is  this  fact  which  accounts  for  the  inclusion  in  all  large 
specifications  of  stops  of  32  ft.  pitch  on  the  Pedal  Organ 
— the  grand,  majestic,  rolling  effect  of  such  stops  being 
one  of  the  prime  features  which  have  caused  the  organ 
to  be  called  the  "King  of  Instruments."  Especially  in 
the  happy  balance  of  these  two  classes  of  stops  is  the 
hand  of  a  Master  Builder  shown. 

From  these  questions  we  pass  on  to  consideration  of 
tone  qualities;  here  we  have  a  complex  matter,  but  one 
which  may  be  denuded  of  many  of  its  difficulties  by 
gathering  together  for  consideration  the  various  stops 
and  arranging  them  in  four  principal  groups,  or  "tone- 
families."  Subdivisions  of  these  groups  would,  from  a 
technical  standpoint,  be  desirable,  but  for  this  first  step 
we  will  omit  such  division  and  will  arbitrarily  arrange 
the  stops  in  the  four  main  divisions  into  which  they 
easily  resolve  themselves. 

These  divisions  are: 

1.  Diapason,  or  organ  foundation  tone. 

2.  Flute  tone,  including  Gedeckt  tone. 

3.  String  tone,  including  Gamba  tone. 

4.  Reed  tone,  both  Clarinet  and  Trumpet  tone. 

Continuing  along  the  lines  indicated  in  the  first 
chapter,  we  will  now  ask  you  to  seat  yourself  at  the 
console,  having  provided  yourself  with  a  sheet  of  paper 
ruled  with  vertical  lines  dividing  it  into  four  columns;  at 
the  top  of  the  sheet  place  in  order  the  names  of  the  tonal 
divisions  as  given  above,  and  you  are  ready  to  begin  your 
investigating. 


14  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

The  process  will  be  simple  and  will  reduce  itself  to  an 
orderly  working  over  or  trying-out  of  the  stops,  drawing 
them — one  at  a  time,  playing  a  few  notes  or  chords  on 
each  one,  listening  to  each  tone  carefully  and  then  trying 
to  decide  into  which  of  the  groups  its  peculiarities  will 
entitle  it  to  fall.  We  will  suppose  that  you  have  drawn, 
for  instance,  the  Swell  Open  Diapason;  with  this  stop  you 
will  have  not  a  bit  of  difficulty;  with  its  name  as  a  guide, 
and  with  its  tone  so  characteristic  of  the  organ,  you  will 
immediately  assign  it  to  column  one. 

Next  we  will  suppose  may  come  a  Flute  of  4  ft.  pitch; 
the  name  of  this,  too,  will  guide  you,  and  the  tone — 
clear,  liquid  and  vividly  imitative  of  its  orchestral  proto- 
type will  serve  to  place  this  stop  in  its  proper  class  with- 
out further  consideration.  Get  these  two  stops  firmly 
fixed  in  mind  and  make  a  mental  note  of  their  tone  colors 
so  that  with  the  consideration  of  another  stop  of  the 
same  families  there  will  be  no  doubt  as  to  which  is  its  kin. 

And  now  for  one  not  quite  so  easy!  The  Oboe;  what 
family  will  this  stop  claim?  Well,  perhaps  this  can  be 
best  answered  by  comparison  and  gradual  elimination; 
you  are  certain,  of  course,  that  it  cannot  belong  to  either 
the  Diapason  or  the  Flute  family,  for  you  have  compared 
the  Oboe  with  representatives  of  these  two  families.  It 
must  then  belong  to  either  the  String  or  the  Reed  family ; 
now  which  one  presents  the  logical  claim?  Possibly  a 
mental  reference  to  the  instruments  of  the  orchestra 
may  help  at  this  point,  for  you  must  realize  that  the 
modern  organ  has  many  stops  whose  tone  is  patterned 
after  orchestral  prototypes  and  whose  faithfulness  of 
delineation  i's  frequently  little  short  of  the  incredible. 

First  think  of  the  instruments  of  the  string  band: 
violin,  viola,  violoncello,  double-bass;  does  it  seem  likely 
that  this  tone  under  consideration  can  be  analogous  to 
that  of  any  of  these  instruments?  Is  there  any  "resin" 
in  the  tone,  such  as  is  common  to  all  bowed  instruments? 
Does  not  the  tone  suggest,  by  its  name,  of  course,  but 


TONE    CLASSIFICATION  15 

equally  by  its  tone  "acid-sweet  and  cloying"  a  kinship  to 
the  wood-wind  band,  and  if  so,  will  it  not  at  once  fall 
under  the  classification  of  reed  instruments  and,  in  our 
distribution,  of  reed  stops?  And  this  is,  quite  correctly, 
its  place. 

Finally  will  present  itself  some  such  stop  as  the 
Salicional  or  Viol  d'Orchestre,  and  with  it  you  will  have 
come  to  the  last  of  the  divisions  (the  third  column,  how- 
ever) and  the  family  of  stops  which  undertakes  the 
imitation  of  the  string  band  of  the  orchestra.  It  must 
be  admitted,  at  the  outset,  that  the  exercise  of  not  a 
little  imagination  is  often  needed  to  see  the  analogy 
between  the  string  stops  and  their  orchestral  prototypes, 
but,  as  a  rule,  in  at  least  some  portion  of  their  compass 
(most  often  in  the  lower  octaves)  a  considerable  likeness 
may  be  discerned,  while  in  many  modern  examples  the 
faithfulness  of  imitation  is  absolutely  startling. 

You  now  have  found  one  specimen  of  each  of  the  tone 
families  indicated  on  your  chart;  proceed  at  once  with 
all  the  remaining  stops  of  your  organ  in  the  same  manner 
using  as  tests  those  stops  already  assigned  to  their 
places  and  by  comparison  deciding  upon  the  place  of 
each  of  the  other  stops.  A  word  of  caution  may  be 
given:  do  not  let  the  name  of  such  a  stop  as  the  Stopped 
Diapason  (truly  a  misnomer)  deceive  you;  rather  let 
its  quality  of  tone — so  very  different  from  that  of  the  real 
Diapason  family — tell  you  in  which  class  to  place  it. 
Decide  by  tone,  rather  than  by  name ! 

When  you  have  run  through  the  whole  gamut  of  stops 
at  your  disposal,  then — and  only  then — turn  to  the  Dic- 
tionary of  Stops  in  the  back  of  this  book,  and  compare 
your  findings  with  the  definitions  of  the  stops  there 
given,  check  up  your  errors  and  note  where  your  judg- 
ment was  wrong.  Finally,  at  the  organ,  go  over  the 
table  of  stops,  noting  where  the  stops  should  correctly 
be  placed  and  where  your  untrained  ear  led  you  astray. 

As  a  commentary  on  this  work  and  finally  to  fix  the 


16  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

correct  grouping  of  the  stops  in  your  memory,  go  over 
at  the  console  the  families  of  stops  of  like  tone,  each  list 
by  itself,  endeavoring  to  fix  in  the  memory  the  stops  of 
each  tone  division,  and  so  to  train  the  memory  that  the 
mere  act  of  thinking  of  any  stop  name  will  at  once  call 
to  mind  the  quality  of  tone  commanded  by  that  stop. 
Thus  a  reciprocal  training  will  be  achieved: — the  mind 
to  recognize  and  classify  any  tone  heard,  and  the  imagi- 
nation to  form  a  mental  picture  of  the  tone  which  will 
be  heard  when  a  given  stop  is  drawn.  This  will  not  be 
accomplished  in  a  day,  but  by  firm  concentration  the 
time  necessary  will  be  reduced  to  the  minimum  and  the 
desired  mastery  attained;  in  this  respect  all  details  of 
organ  study  are  alike. 


First  Baptist  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

(M.  P.  M  oiler,  Hagerslown,  Md.) 


CHAPTER  III 

Registration  of  Exercises  in  Duet  and  Trio 

Form 

Having  mastered  the  simple  manual  and  pedal  exer- 
cises discussed  in  the  first  two  chapters  you  will  be 
introduced  next  to  duets  or  two-part  exercises  between 
the  hands  (alternately)  and  the  pedals — "Scale  Passages 
for  Alternate  Toes"  -The  Organ,  pages  49-52  inclusive, 
the  purpose  of  these  being  to  cultivate  independence  of 
motion  between  the  hands  and  feet.  During  the  study 
of  these  exercises  you  will  have  opportunity  further  to 
progress  in  your  acquaintance  with  tone  colors. 

In  taking  up  these  duets  the  method  of  procedure 
should  be  similar  to  that  adopted  for  the  work  already 
done:  first  couple  one  of  the  manuals  to  the  pedals,  the 
Great — let  us  say;  draw  now  on  the  Great  some  stop  of 
medium  strength  of  tone — such  as  the  Gamba,  Melodia, 
or  Second  Diapason.  To  this  add  a  pedal  stop  of  not  too 
strong  tone — the  Bourdon  16  ft.,  in  all  probability,  and 
consider  this  as  your  fixed  tone  for  the  bass  for  a  little 
while. 

Now  against  this  fixed  bass,  you  are  to  select  in  rota- 
tion the  various  stops  of  medium  strength  tone  of  the 
Swell  organ,  as  the  tones  for  the  other  voice  of  the  duet; 
first,  the  Open  Diapason,  then  the  Salicional,  then  the 
Oboe,  etc.,  changing  the  stops  with  each  exercise  as  at 
first.  In  this  way  you  will  absorb  the  elementary 
principles  of  blending  and  contrast — and  in  this  the 
work  is  the  logical  expansion  of  that  done  in  the 
preceding  chapters. 

Extend    the    principle    to    its    fullest    ramifications, 


18 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


changing  the  combination  selected  for  the  bass  voice  of 
the  duet,  and  again  going  through  the  exercises  with  the 
change  of  registration  for  the  upper  voice  with  each  new 
exercise.  Finally,  try  your  hand  at  combining  some  of 
the  soft  8  ft.  and  4  ft.  stops  to  form  the  combination 
for  the  treble  voice  of  the  duet,  such  combinations  as 
the  Salicional  and  Flute,  Gedeckt  and  Flute,  etc. 

Having  exhausted  the  possibilities  of  the  Swell  stops 
as  directed  above,  reverse  the  arrangement  and  couple 
the  Swell  to  the  Pedals,  now  playing  the  manual  part  of 
the  duet  on  the  Great — varying  the  stops  of  this  manual 


Sal. 

Swell 
Ged.  Flute 

< 

Did. 

Jren 
Mel. 

t 

Flute 

Sal. 

Swell 
CM.  Flute 

Grea 

T)ul.    Mel. 

t 
Flute 

1 

o 

o 

O 

o 

10 

2 

o 

o 

o 

o 

11 

3 

o 

o 

o 

o 

12 

4 

o 

o 

o 

o 

13 

5 

o 

o 

o 

o 

14 

G 

o 

o 

o 

o 

15 

7 

o 

o 

o 

o 

16 

8 

o 

o 

o 

o 

17 

9 

o 

o 

o 

o 

18 

FIG.  5.     REGISTRATION  POSSIBILITIES  FOR  DUETS  WITH  AN 
ORGAN  OF  SIX  MANUAL  STOPS 


in  exactly  the  same  way  as  before,  and  finally  trying  a 
few  combinations  of  8  ft.  and  4  ft.  stops  before  going 
further.  Countless  changes  of  effect  and  contrasting 
shades  of  tone  are  thus  introduced  to  the  ear,  and  the 
resulting  ear-training  is  of  the  greatest  value.  Before 
leaving  this  work  it  will  be  well  to  make  use — though 
sparingly — of  some  of  the  more  powerful  stops — the 
Great  Open  Diapason,  Swell  Cornopean,  and  the  heavier 
Pedal  stops — 16  ft.  Open  Diapason,  etc.,  using  these  stops 
only  during  short  spaces  of  time — an  admonition  which 
is  equally  applicable  at  all  stages  of  progress. 


REGISTRATION    OF    EXERCISES  19 

When  you  have  covered  this  duet  work  to  your 
teacher's  satisfaction  you  will  pass  on  to  the  study  of 
trios  employing  simultaneously  both  hands  and  the  feet; 
pages  56  to 59  inc.,  The  Organ — headed :  "Easy  Exercises 
for  Producing  Independence  of  Hands  and  Feet." 

Should  you  be  so  fortunate  as  to  have  the  use  of  a 
three-manual  organ  for  your  practice,  the  logical  thing, 
of  course,  will  be  to  couple  one  of  the  manuals  to  the 
pedals,  reserving  for  each  of  the  hands  one  of  the  other 
two  manuals  not  so  coupled,  thus  giving  free  scope  for 
changes  of  tone  in  all  three  parts  of  the  trios.  But  if, 
as  is  more  likely,  the  organ  is  a  fa^o-manual  instrument 
you  probably  will  be  compelled  to  limit  yourself  to  but 
two  distinct  qualities  of  tone,  coupling  one  of  the 
manuals  to  the  pedals  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  the 
pedal  notes  easily  distinguishable.  Note  carefully,  how- 
ever, that  this  direction  does  not  retain  its  force  should 
your  organ  be  equipped  (as  should  all  organs,  large  or 
small)  with  a  clear  incisive  stop  of  8  ft.  pitch  such  as  the 
Violo?icello;  the  possession  of  such  a  stop  will  render  the 
pedal  part  quite  clear  and  decisive,  and  no  resort  to 
coupling  will  be  necessary.  Unfortunately,  stops  of  this 
character  are  omitted  from  the  pedal  resources  of  many 
medium  size  organs  and  practically  all  small  organs,  so 
that  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  coupling  is  imper- 
ative; commercial  exigencies  of  the  day  dictate  the 
specifications  of  all  too  many  organs  so  that  in  count- 
less cases  the  result  is  a  collection  of  solo  stops — at- 
tractive in  themselves  no  doubt,  but  included  by  the 
sacrifice  of  vitally  needed  foundation  work. 

In  these  trios  the  course  to  follow  will,  logically,  be 
an  expansion  of  the  work  done  on  the  duets;  vary  the 
stops  first  on  one  manual,  then  on  the  other,  and — if  it  be 
possible — finally  on  the  pedals;  try  to  approach  the 
maximum  number  of  effects  possible.  Given  even  a 
dozen  stops  the  mathematical  possibilities  of  re- 
arrangement are  astounding;  let  your  endeavor  be  (as 


20  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

nearly   as  possible)  to  exhaust  these  possibilities  before 
going  further  in  the  work. 

Quite  possibly  your  studies  may  at  about  this  point 
be  amplified  by  excursions  into  one  of  a  number  of  books 
of  rather  more  advanced  studies  in  trio  form,  and  in 
them  you  will  find  a  splendid  field  for  cultivating  tonal 
control;  in  most  of  them  slight  registrative  directions 
are  given  which  will  furnish  the  clue  to  the  general 
effect  desired  by  the  composer.  First  follow  these 
directions  as  closely  as  possible,  and  later  seek  to  vary 
them  considerably— still  not  altering  the  basic  intention; 
you  will  learn  much  from  this  experimentation  and 
derive  not  a  little  pleasure  therefrom.  Use  different 
gradations  of  power,  of  contrast,  of  quality,  and  above 
all  strive  to  really  hear  what  you  are  doing,  for  in  the 
degree  of  accuracy  with  which  you  hear  may  be  said 
to  be  written  the  degree  of  proficiency  which  you  will 
attain  as  a  tonal  artist.  The  countless  throngs  of  organ 
students  (and  organists)  who  plod  along,  year  after 
year,  using  the  same  limited,  unbalanced,  raw,  tiresome 
combinations  are  a  pathetic  but  arresting  indication  of 
the  fact  that  the  average  untrained  person  is  not 
developed  to  the  point  of  accurate  hearing,  to  say  nothing 
of  possessing  ability  to  registrate  properly. 

From  the  first  day  at  the  organ  your  purpose  must  be 
to  truly  hear,  hear,  HEAR,  and  your  intention  must  be 
firm  to  use  as  much  care  and  thought  in  working 
out  beautiful  effects  during  your  practice,  as  you 
would  desire  to  secure  during  a  public  performance. 
Be  always  striving  for  perfection — both  in  your  registra- 
tive explorations  and  in  your  mechanical  processes. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Mass  Registration:  Tone  Families 

And  now  to  begin  the  fascinating  though  difficult  art 
of  combining  in  mass  the  tones  which  you  have  so  far 
been  studying  as  individuals!  Very  few  rules  can  be 
laid  down  for  this  work;  no  list  of  "stops  that  combine 
well"  will  be  offered  you,  indeed  we  wonder  by  what 
authority  certain  persons  can  state  that  some  stops  do 
and  other  stops  do  not  combine!  Such  dogmatic  asser- 
tions we  regard  as  arbitrary,  to  say  the  least,  and 
would  rather  suggest  that  all  stops  (granted,  of  course, 
that  they  are  of  excellent  character  as  individuals) 
combine  well  for  certain  effects;  these  effects  would  in 
some  cases  be  of  use  only  in  the  rarest  cases,  we  grant, 
but  such  woidd  not  affect  the  contention  we  have  just 
made. 

Moreover  in  many  cases  it  will  be  discovered  that 
where  it  has  been  stated  that  certain  stops  do  not 
combine  well  what  is  actually  the  case  is  that  the  com- 
bination was  not  in  good  balance  for  the  particular  use 
made  of  it.  Indeed  it  is  an  open  question  whether  one 
may  not  say  that  any  combination  is  good  and  useful,— 
provided  it  is  used  at  a  time  and  with  a  composition  to 
which  it  is  suited. 

The  first  steps  in  this  work  will  engage  your  attention 
with  the  combining  of  stops  of  near  tonal  relationship, 
as:  Flutes  and  Diapasons,  first  on  the  Swell  organ,  and 
then  on  the  Great.  This  can  well  be  taken  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  study  of  the  rudiments  of  hymn-playing— 
which  study  many  teachers  wisely  introduce  during  the 
first  three  months  of  instruction. 


22  -1    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

The  process  will  be  very  simple,  and  is  as  follows: 
draw  first  on  the  Swell  organ  the  8  ft.  Flute — which  will 
probably  be  found  under  one  of  the  following  names: 
Gedeckt,  Stopped  Diapason,  Clarabella,  etc.  Now  play 
over  a  line  of  a  hymn  to  familiarize  the  ear  with  the 
tone  quality.  Push  in  this  stop  and,  drawing  the  Open 
Diapason,  play  another  line  of  the  hymn  to  fix  in  the 
mind  its  quality.  Having  heard  both  singly,  draw  them 
together  and  play  through  the  entire  hymn  noting  care- 
fully the  resulting  blend  of  the  tones;  it  will  be  well,  at 
this  stage,  to  test  the  effect  of  the  balanced  expression 
lever — commonly  called  the  swell  pedal — on  the  volume 
(and  to  a  lesser  degree  on  the  quality)  of  the  stops  under 
its  control.  A  word  of  caution  may  be  extended — that 
you  endeavor  to  use  the  expression  levers  in  a  smooth, 
restrained,  and  artistic  manner,  avoiding  the  spasmodic, 
jerky,  "pump-handle"  style  so  painfully  common  with 
tyros. 

Proceed  in  the  same  manner  with  stops  of  similar  tone 
and  name  from  the  Great  organ  and — having  done  so — 
pass  on  to  stops  of  wider  dissimilarity  of  tone,  as  for 
instance  some  of  these: 

Swell  8  ft.  Flute  with  8  ft.  String  (Salicional,  Viol). 
Swell  8  ft.  Flute  with  8  ft.  Aeoline. 
Swell  8  ft.  Diapason  with  8  ft.  String. 
Swell  8  ft.  Reed  (Oboe)  with  8  ft.  Flute. 

And  all  the  others  which  you  may  be  able  to  devise — 


including  the  stops  of  the  Great  organ  in  exactly  the 
same  way.  "Ring  the  changes"  on  the  many  combina- 
tions possible — even  on  a  small  organ — testing  the  tone 
colors  with  short  melodic  phrases  in  different  parts  of  the 
keyboard  as  well  as  with  the  harmony  of  the  hymns — 
and  above  all  seeking  to  really  hear  what  you  are  pro- 
ducing. A  simple,  well-written  piece  of  music  such  as 
William  Faulkes'  Prelude  Solennel,  Fig.  6,  will  afford 
excellent  opportunity  for  the  forming  of  simple  registra- 
tions; note  the  composer's  intention  that  the  piece  be 


PRELUDE    SOLENNEL 


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ii  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

quietly  played  throughout,  and  select  your  registration 
accordingly. 

The  next  step  will  be  the  constructing  of  "tone 
families,"  or  mass  groups  of  the  different  pitched  stops 
of  the  same  tone  color;  at  this  point  it  is  fitting  to  remark 
that  with  all  small  organs,  and  indeed  with  many  organs 
of  fair  size,  it  will  not  be  possible  to  build  complete 
families  of  all  tones.  The  commercial  exigencies  of  the 
day  are  such  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  even 
approximately  scientific  specifications;  however,  as  a 
rule,  fairly  complete  families  of  Flute  and  Diapason  tone 
will  be  found  available. 

Let  us  therefore  take  first  the  Flute  family,  first  on  the 
Swell  organ,  then  on  the  Great,  finally  combining  the 
two.  On  the  Swell  you  will  find  some  or  all  of  these 
stops : 

16  ft.  Bourdon,  Gedeckt,  or  Double  Diapason. 
8  ft.  Bourdon,  Gedeckt,  Stopped  Diapason,  or  Flute. 
4  ft.  Flute  (Travers,  Harmonic,  Chimney,  d' Amour). 
2  ft.  Piccolo,  Flageolet,  Fifteenth. 

A  selection  from  these  stops  will  comprise  your  Swell 
family  of  Flutes,  and  you  should  now  continue  your 
hymn-playing  selecting  from  them  stops  at  three  different 
pitches;  starting  first  with  the  8  ft.,  adding  the  4  ft., 
and  lastly  the  2  ft.  Then  you  should  throw  off  one  of 
the  stops  and  add  the  16  ft.,  etc.  Having  thus  obtained 
a  glimpse  of  the  composite  effect  of  a  family  of  tone,  you 
should  investigate  the  possibilities  of  pairs  of  stops  of 
the  same  tone:  16  ft.  and  4  ft.,  8  ft.  and  2  ft.,  16  ft.  and 
2  ft.,  etc.,  in  short  all  combinations  possible  with  the 
resources  at  hand. 

In  the  same  manner  study  the  resources  of  the  Great 
organ,  for  though  they  will  be  of  more  limited  scope  they 
are  nevertheless  of  much  importance;  finally  couple  the 
Swell  to  the  Great  and  try  the  greatly  increased  scope 
thus  made  available.  Certain  simple  compositions  may 
at  this  point  be  examined  with  regard  to  utilizing  the 


MASS    REGISTRATION 


25 


knowledge  acquired  in  the  previous  work :  The  beautiful 
Bach  chorale-vorspiel  Alle  Menschen  mussen  sterben  can 
be  charmingly  registrated  for  soft  flutes  with  swell-box 

SCHERZO,  in  D  Minor 

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FIG.   7 


closed;  Gottfried  Federlein's  Scherzo  in  D-minor  contains 
an  episode  requiring  flutes  at  various  pitches;  A.  Walter 
Kramer,  in  his  Morning  Song  Op.  28,  No.   2,  has  made 


26 


A    PRIMER    OF    ORGAN    REGISTRATION 


a  felicitous  use  of  the  soft  flutes  in  the  second  theme, 
and  numerous  compositions  and  arrangements  of  the 

MORNING  SONG 

(CHANSON   MATINA1E) 


A.   WALTER   KRAMER 
Op.  28,  N22 


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FIG.  8 


French  school,  notably  in  the  compositions  of  Guilmant, 
Widor,  Bonnet  and  Vierne,  and  certain  arrangements 


MASS    REGISTRATION  27 

from  the  works  of  Claude  Debussy  afford  ample  opportu- 
nity for  the  display  of  flute  tone. 

Turn  now'to  the  Diapason  family;  only  on  the  Great 
are  you  likely  to  find  a  complete  family  of  tone,  and  it 
will  be — in  whole  or  part — as  follows: 

16  ft.  Double  Open  Diapason. 
8  ft.  Open  Diapason. 
4  ft.  Principal  or  Octave. 
2  2/3  ft.  Twelfth. 
2  ft.  Fifteenth  or  Super  Octave. 

And  perhaps  a  Mixture  of  3,  4,  5,  or  even  6  ranks.  In 
this  table  you  will  note  two  pitches  so  far  unfamiliar  to 
you:  the  Twelfth,  and  the  Mixture. 

We  cannot  give  space  to  a  digression  into  acoustical 
matters  to  thoroughly  explain  the  necessity  for  these 
stops;  all  that  has  been  covered  in  many  available 
treatises  and  manuals  of  science.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
these  stops  supply  certain  tonal  ingredients  (harmonics, 
or  upper  partials)  which  are  but  weakly  produced  in 
normal  pitched  stops;  their  presence  adds  a  brilliancy,  a 
"clang"  to  the  tone — especially  the  mezzo-forte  or  forte 
tone — without  which  a  feeling  of  dulness  might  be 
noticed.  This  you  can  quickly  prove  for  yourself:  first 
draw  all  the  8  ft.  Flute  and  Diapason  stops  and  play 
through  a  hymn;  add  all  the  4  ft.  and  2  ft.  stops  and 
play  through  another  verse  of  the  same  hymn.  Finally 
add  all  the  higher  pitched  stops:  the  ll\  ft.,  2  ft.,  and 
Mixtures,  and  listen  to  the  transformation  which 
they  work.  Some  one  has  characterized  the  addition 
of  a  good  Mixture  to  a  full  combination  as  "falling 
like  a  shower  of  stars"  over  the  tone  mass — a  most 
felicitous  description ! 

Having  worked  out  separately  the  possibilities  of  the 
Flutes  and  Diapasons,  try  your  hand  at  combining  them, 
proceeding  from  the  soft  stops  to  those  of  mezzo-forte 
strength,  adding  soft  4  fts.,  then  stronger  8  fts.,  etc., 
finally    the    "upper-work"  —generally    drawing    Flutes 


28  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

before  Diapasons  to  avoid  sharp  "cutting-in"  effects — 
and  thus  achieving  a  reasonably  smooth  crescendo  from 
the  two  families.  In  connection  with  this  work  some 
such  composition  as  William  Reed's  Triumphal  March 
will  be  useful;  particular  thought  should  be  given  to 
obtaining  a  reasonable  amount  of  variety  in  the  registra- 
tion of  such  numbers — without  diverging  too  far  from 
the  composer's  frequent  dynamic  (/,  mf,  ff,  and  sf) 
marks.  In  such  pieces — where  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
composer  that  considerable  power  be  utilized — the 
variety  must  be  attained  by  changes  of  tone  color,  rather 
than  by  the  more  usual  varying  of  intensity. 

The  String  and  Reed  families  will,  by  reason  of  their 
universal  incompleteness,  furnish  obstacles  to  their  study 
by  similar  methods;  they  are  so  generally  limited  by 
commercial  necessity  that  single  stops  are  the  rule 
rather  than  the  exception.  String  tone  is,  however,  being 
more  appreciated  at  its  true  worth,  and  it  is  a  pleasure 
to  note  that  fair-sized  organs  are  now  being  equipped 
with  something  approximating  a  complete  string  family 
on  at  least  one  manual. 

On  large  organs,  too,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  reeds 
at  16,  8  and  4  ft.  pitches  on  at  least  one  manual — gen- 
erally the  Solo  or  Great;  these  are  of  the  same  tone 
quality  as  a  rule,  and  in  fact  are  frequently  the  very 
same  stop  rendered  available  on  two  manuals.  On  the 
Swell,  it  is  common  practice  to  include  a  16  ft.  of  mezzo- 
forte  strength,  and  8  ft.  stops  of  two  or  three  tone  quali- 
ties and  strengths.  These,  however,  can  hardly  be 
classed  as  families,  per  se,  as  the  voicing  will  render  them 
so  individual  that  they  can  be  classed  as  a  family  only 
in  regard  to  their  construction  and  not  in  regard  to  their 
tonal  characteristics.  Nevertheless,  you  should  experi- 
ment with  these  also,  seeking  to  become  so  familiar  with 
their  characteristics  that  you  will  at  once  recognize  the 
quality — even  if  a  stop  be  drawn  at  random  with  the 
eves  closed. 


SORTIE,  in  F  Major 

r Swell:  Full 

I  Great:  ff  without  reed 

Prepare  <  Choir:  Flute  8' 

'Solo:  Tubas  16' 4  8' 


,  Pedal:  ff  without  reed 

Vivace,  ma  non  troppo 


JAMES  H.  ROGERS 


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FIG.   9 


80  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN    REGISTRATION 

all aTp; fin dit  nl fine 


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PIG.   '»  (Con  I 

An  artistic  use  of  powerful  reed  slops  is  scon  in  the 
coda  of  James  II.  Rogers'  Sortie  in  F  major;  despite  the 
buoyanl  and  vivacious  character  of  the  piece,  the  com- 
poser designates  the  omission  of  the  heavy  solo  reeds 
(Tuba)  until  the  last  sixteen  measures  thus  retaining  a 
si  on-  of  power  lor  his  final,  closing  climax. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  mention  should  be  made 
of  the  omission  of  treatmenl  pertaining  to  the  Pedal 
organ;  this  has  been  done  intentionally,  and  lor  the 
reason  that  in  the  presenl  day,  when  the  Majority  of 
organs  are  being  built  with  sadly  incomplete  apologies 
for  pedal  organs  it  is  virtually  a  waste  of  time  and 
space  to  direct  that  the  pedal  organ  l>e  studied  with  any 
pre-determined  system.    Pedal  slops    as  now  furnished 

are  usually  of  so  limited  variety  thai  the  best  thai  can 
be  asked  of  this  departmenl  is  thai  ii  furnish  a  bass  of 
approximately  correct  volume  to  balance  the  manual 
combinations  in  use;  the  pedal  organ  will  be  considered 
in  later  chapters,  however,  in  its  relation  to  this  aspect 
of  the  matter. 


St.  Thomas'  Church,  New  York. 
(Ernest  M.  Skinner  Co.,  Boston) 


CHAPTER  V 

Two-Color  and  Solo  Effects 

The  study  of  solo  effects --the  methods  by  which 
one  voice  is  thrown  into  prominence,  the  blending  of 
prime  tones  to  form  both  the  solo  voice  and  parts  accom- 
panying— these  are  the  logical  outgrowth  of  the  preceding 
study  of  single  tones  and  families  of  tones;  perhaps  no 
stage  of  registration  study  holds  out  more  alluring  pros- 
pects to  the  student  than  this  upon  which  we  now  emerge. 

A  solo  voice  may  be  contrasted  with  and  given  promi- 
nence above  its  accompaniment  either  by  difference  of 
volume  as  the  preponderant  factor,  by  the  use  of  dis- 
similar tone  color,  or — as  most  often  happens — by  a 
combination  of  the  two  methods. 

The  first  method  of  differentiating  solo  and  accom- 
paniment is  in  reality  an  expansion  of  the  monochrome 
principle  which  we  have  up  to  this  time  been  using  very 
considerably,  and  it  is — moreover— the  simplest  to  grasp; 
for  these  reasons  we  will  give  a  brief  illustration  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  idea — selecting  for  use  that  family 
which  perhaps  more  than  any  other  presents  less  variance 
of  tone  from  accepted  ideals — viz.:  the  Diapason  family, 
using  the  stops  of  that  name  at  different  pitches,  and 
also  the  very  soft  form  commonly  known  as  the  Dulciana. 
Only  a  few  of  the  combinations  would  be  of  practical 
usefulness,  but  as  a  key  we  give  below  a  table  of  several 
of  the  most  obvious  arrangements: 

Solo  Combination  Accompanying  Combination 
Swell  Diapason.  Great  Dulciana. 

Great  Diapason.  Swell  Diapason. 

Great  Hi  ft.  and  4  ft.  Diapasons.  Swell  Diapason. 

Great    8  ft.  and  4  ft.  Diapasons.  Swell  Diapason. 

Great    4  ft.  Diapason  (Sw.  to  Gt.).  Swell  Diapason. 


32  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN    REGISTRATION 

These  obtain  the  effect  of  solo  and  accompaniment  by 
no  other  means  than  that  of  relative  strength  or  dynamic 
value.  You  should  now  study  the  possibilities  of  this 
tone  utilized  as  above  suggested,  using  in  all  probability 
hymn  tunes  and  chorales  as  before — but  playing  the 
soprano  part  as  a  solo,  the  left  hand  taking  the  alto  and 
tenor  voices,  and  the  pedals  playing  the  bass  (with  the 
accompanying  manual  coupled  to  the  pedals);  you  will 
find  this  work  approached  in  pages  87  and  88  of  The 
Organ  and  from  those  pages  you  will  doubtless  first  study 
this  phase  of  the  technic. 

In  the  same  way  should  be  studied  the  Flute  and 
String  families,  endeavoring  to  discover  all  the  solo  and 
accompaniment  combinations  possible  for  use.  It  is 
frequently  found  to  assist  greatly  if  the  student  will  first 
write  out  a  list  of  the  stops  found  in  the  organ  on  which 
he  practises,  grouping  them  as  families  of  tone  and 
checking  up  the  list  with  the  dictionary  of  stops  found 
in  the  back  of  this  book,  then  proceeding  with  the  study 
of  the  available  contrasts  as  outlined  above.  Forming  a 
list  of  the  available  stops  tends  to  clarify  the  matter,  as  it 
quickly  summarizes  in  immediately  available  form  the 
exact  resources  at  hand. 

It  is  altogether  likely  that  during  this  investigation 
some  doubts  may  arise  as  to  the  effectiveness  of 
certain  of  these  arbitrarily  formed  combinations;  these 
doubts  may  in  some  cases  have  not  a  little  foundation  for 
their  existence,  but  frequently  it  will  be  found  that  the 
difficulty  lies  in  their  employment  in  an  unfortunate 
position  on  the  keyboard.  What  the  singers  describe  as 
the  tessitura  or  location  of  a  passage — whether  it  be 
high,  low  or  medium,  is  an  important  factor  which  must 
be  considered  when  forming  combinations  for  public 
performance;  in  other  words,  what  might  sound  well  in 
one  part  of  the  keyboard  on  a  given  stop,  might  sound 
abominably  on  another  stop  in  exactly  the  same  locale. 
These  are  matters  which,  later  on,  will  demand  your 


TWO-COLOR    AND    SOLO    EFFECTS  S3 

attention  constantly,  but  for  the  present  it  will  be  well 
to  give  free  rein  to  your  experimentation — noting  what 
effects  are  good  for  general  use  and  what  for  bizarre  and 
special  use  only.  In  a  very  general  way  it  may  be  stated 
that  Flutes  are  most  effective  in  the  higher  portions  of 
their  compass,  Diapasons  and  Reeds  in  the  middle  and 
lower  octaves,  and  Strings  especially  are  most  pleasing 
in  the  lower  octaves. 

We  now  turn  to  the  subject  of  contrast  by  dis- 
similar tone  color,  and  a  complex  matter  it  is;  with  the 
limited  number  of  stops  of  even  a  very  small  organ  the 
possible  number  of  combinations  runs  into  the  dozens, 
and  it  is  this  fact  that  makes  a  comprehensive  analysis 
virtually  impossible.  Here  it  is,  indeed,  that  the 
musician  possessing  an  imaginative  mind  so  completely 
overshadows  his  less  gifted  brother;  such  a  man  will  sit 
at  a  strange  console  and  draw  from  the  organ  effect  after 
effect  that  his  less  naturally  gifted  confrere  has  never 
dreamed  could  be  drawn  from  it!  This  would  seem  to 
be  the  result  of  intuitively  forming  a  mental  picture  of 
the  tone  effects  possible,  and  the  process  seems  to  defy 
analysis;  however,  it  is  fortunate  for  the  great  majority 
who  do  not  possess  this  Heaven-sent  gift  that  there  is  a 
possible  method  of  exploration  available  to  any  and  all, 
and  that  by  a  logical  (one  might  say  a  mathematical) 
scheme  the  resources  may  be  completely  utilized.  It 
seems  almost  trite  to  point  out  that  anyone  by  an 
expansion  of  the  simple  principles  of  investigation  which 
we  have  been  urging  can  inevitably  discover  all  the 
effects  possible — if  the  process  be  but  continued  long 
rnough!  But  the  fact  remains  that — with  all  the  re- 
sources conveniently  at  hand,  and  with  the  stops  fairly 
crying  to  be  experimented  with — the  great  majority  of 
pupils  never  even  think  of  branching  out  on  any  inde- 
pendent trips  of  discovery  on  their  own  initiative. 
Because  of  this,  we  have  kept  reiterating  this  point 
throughout  the  work  so  far,  and  we  cannot  too  often  urge 


31 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


that  the  constant  aim  be  to  seek  out  some  new  effect  each  day. 
To  demonstrate  how  numerous  are  the  possible  effects 
on  even  a  very  small  organ  we  have  tabulated  below  a 
list  (not  exhaustive  by  any  means)  of  effects  possible  on 
an  organ  of  but  ten  speaking  stops — about  as  small  an 
organ  as  will  commonly  be  encountered.  The  specifica- 
tion of  stops  of  the  organ  will  be  as  follows: 


Swell 

8  ft.  Open  Diapason 

8  ft.  Gedeckt 

8  ft.  Salicional 

8  ft.  Aeoline 

4  ft.  Flute  Harmonic 


Great 

S  ft.  Open  Diapason 

8  ft.  Melodia 

8  ft.  Dulciana 

4  ft.  Flute  d' Amour 


Pedal 

1(5  ft.  Bourdon 

And  here  are  some  of  the  combinations  of  these  stops 
as  solo  and  accompaniment  considered  without  the 
effects  possible  by  use  of  couplers: 


Solo 

Sw.  Open  Diapason 

Sw.  Salicional 

Sw.  Gedeckt  and  Flute 

Sw.  Diapason  and  Salicional 

Sw.  Salicional  and  Flute 

Sw.  D  at  ason,  Gedeckt  and  Flute 

Sw.  Full  (all  stops) 

Gt.  Open  Diapason 

Gt.  Melodia  and  Flute 

Gt.  Dulciana 

Gt.  Flute 

Gt.  Full  (all  stops) 


Accompaniment 

Gt.  Melodia 

Gt.  Dulciana 

Gt.  Dulciana 

Gt.  Melodia 

Gt.  Dulciana 

Gt.  Melodia 

Gt.  Melodia    and    Dulciana    with    or 

without  Flute 
Sw.  Open  Diapason,  or  Salicional  and 

Gedeckt 
Sw.  Salicional,  or  Gedeckt  and  Aeoline 
Sw.  Aeoline 
Sw.  Aeoline 
Sw.  Full  (all  stops) 


And  these  are,  of  course,  not  all  of  the  effects  possible- 


or  anything  like  it;  consider  how  the  vistas  widen  when 
the  increased  flexibility  of  octave  couplers  is  added! 
And  if  such  a  variety  of  results  is  possible  with  the  small 
resources  of  a  little  organ  such  as  the  above — have  we 


TWO-COLOR    AND    SOLO    EFFECTS  35 

not  a  right  to  expect  from  larger  instruments  a  most 
varied  scheme  of  registration? 

In  addition  must  be  considered  the  factor  of  control 
introduced  by  the  swell-boxes  of  the  organ ;  the  degree  to 
which  the  box  is  open  is  often  the  detenu  ining  factor  in 
producing  a  good  effect.  Frequently  when  the  student  is 
wondering  "why  that  combination  sounds  badly"  the 
answer  will  be  found  to  be  that  the  swell-box  is  either 
not  open  enough  or  is  too  widely  open;  it  is  a  curious  fact 
that  combinations  which  are  raw  to  the  extreme  with  the 
box  open  take  on  qualities  of  charm  with  the  box  partly 
or  altogether  closed,  and  conversely — others  seem  to 
suffocate  with  the  box  closed  more  than  a  very  little. 
Reeds  need  the  refining  influence  of  the  swell-shutters, 
while  Flutes  seem  to  undergo  a  change  of  quality  with 
suppression  and  lose  their  "bloom"  as  the  voicers  term 
it.  The  student  should  therefore  try  the  effect  of  the 
swell-boxes  on  combinations  while  exploring  for  new 
effects. 

At  this  point  (if  indeed  not  earlier)  the  student  will 
inevitably  cast  longing  eyes  toward  some  of  the  myriad 
"solo-stop"  pieces,  and — granted  that  the  study  of 
advanced  technic  be  not  neglected — there  is  no  good 
reason  why  some  of  the  "syrup"  should  not  be  included 
along  with  the  heartier  fare!  But  it  should  be  pointed 
out  that  this  relaxation  should  not  be  permitted  to  result 
in  playing  nothing  but  this  type  of  music;  melody  pieces 
have  their  place  and  use,  but  they  are  not  the  end  and 
aim  of  organ  music  by  any  means. 

In  taking  up  such  pieces  the  safest  rule  is  to  stick  to 
single  solo  stops  at  first — prime  timbres  as  the  French 
say,  and  then  very  slowly  progress  into  the  field  of  solo 
combinations. 

Such  pieces  as  Adolphe  M.  Foerster's  really  excellent 
Pastorale,  Roland  Diggle's  Reverie  Trisle,  J.  Frank 
Frysinger's  Berceuse  in  A -flat — to  name  but  a  few — are 
of  great  value  at  this  point,  and  have  the  additional 


PASTORALE 


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FIG.   10 


TWO-COLOR    A.XD    SOLO    EFFECTS  37 

value  of  being  worth  playing  long  after  this  period  of 
experimentation  is  passed.  The  first  mentioned  is  such 
an  interesting  example  of  registration  in  contrasted 
prime  colors  that  we  present  a  series  of  short  selections 
from  it  and  strongly  advise  all  students  to  include  it 
among  their  study  material  for  this  period. 

The  simplest  principle  which  can  be  laid  down  for  this 
work  is  this:  First  form  your  solo  combination,  or  select 
your  solo  stop;  if  it  be  a  combination  of  stops  first  select 
two  that  together  please  you,  and  if  more  stops  are 
wished,  build  upon  these  two,  adding  others  which 
will  blend  well  with  them.  When  you  have  your  solo 
combination  arranged,  select  from  the  stops  on  another 
manual  a  stop  or  stops  which  will  render  adequate 
support,  a  certain  amount  of  contrast,  and  not  too  great  a 
volume  of  tone.  As  a  rule,  the  student  does  not  err  in 
this  latter  respect — but  in  the  converse — using  too  weak 
an  accompaniment,  with  the  result  that  the  effect  is  all 
"top  and  bottom,"  the  melody  strong,  pedal  ample, 
but  accompaniment  almost  inaudible;  guard  against  this 
with  care.  It  might  be  well  to  hint  that  you  will  do  well 
to  be  more  sparing  in  the  volume  of  the  pedal  organ  than 
of  the  manual  accompaniment.  Much  guidance  may  be 
derived  from  observation  of  the  balance  effected  by 
famous  accompanists  in  the  recital  world  of  the  day  and 
their  work  should  be  studied  with  these  points  in  mind. 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Use  of  Couplers 

Consideration  of  those  important  mechanical  aids 
known  as  couplers  has  been  left  until  this  point — as  dis- 
cussion of  such  a  complicated  subject  prior  to  attain- 
ment of  a  fair  mastery  of  the  speaking-stops  would  in  all 
probability  only  result  in  confusion  to  the  student. 

Couplers  are  mechanical  devices  by  which  different 
units  or  sections  of  the  organ  may  be  played  from 
claviers  or  manuals  other  than  their  own  proper  claviers; 
through  their  use  increased  sonority  is  achieved — as  the 
tonal  resources  of  two,  three  or  more  units  may  be  con- 
trolled as  a  concrete  whole.  With  them  varied  and  com- 
plex blending  of  tones,  both  in  solo  and  harmony,  is 
secured,  and  by  their  use  not  only  are  many  unique  and 
unusual  effects  made  possible,  but — with  exercise  of 
good  judgment — it  is  possible  to  greatly  alleviate  inher- 
ent faults  in  the  tonal  design  of  the  organ  itself — faults 
such  as  improper  balance  of  tone,  and  missing  stops  of 
special  qualities. 

An  analogy  may  be  drawn  between  the  couplers  of  the 
organ  and  the  electric  switches  in  the  lighting  system  of 
one's  house;  the  lights  in  the  different  rooms  may  be 
considered  as  representing  the  different  organs  (Swell, 
Great,  Pedal,  etc.),  the  player  himself  may  be  likened  to 
the  main  switch  of  the  whole  house — through  which  the 
energy  is  transmitted,  and  the  couplers  stand  in  the 
same  relationship  to  the  different  organs  and  the  player 
as  do  the  individual  switches  in  each  room  of  the  house. 
It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  act  of  turning  on  the  main 
switch  of  the  house  will  have  no  effect  on  the  lights  in 


Console  with  Stops  Arranged  in  Tiers;  Couplers   Controlled  by 

Tilting  Tablets 
(M.  P.  MOUer,  Hagerstown,  Md.) 


USE   OF   COUPLERS 


:59 


the  different  rooms  if  the  individual  switches  controlling 
those  rooms  be  left  in  the  "off"  position,  and  that  in  like 
manner  the  player  may  press  the  key  to  no  avail  unless 
the  needed  coupler  be  used  to  bridge  the  gap  between 
the  key-circuit  and  the  particular  section  of  the  organ 
which  it  is  desired  to  use.     An  electrician  would  speak 


a 


Poivei 


Main  Switch 


<z> 


-€>•, 


<e 


■*e 


Individual  Room        , 


r/ 


Switches 


(9w.  to  Gt.) 


amps   in 
Individual  Rooms 


r^ 


Gt.  Manual 


Swell 


(Unison  "off") 


Great 


(Ch.toGt.) 


Choi 


Cov/plers  Organs 

FIG.    11.      ANALOGY    OF    ELECTRIC    LIGHT    SWITCHES    TO 

COUPLERS 


of  the  couplers  of  an  organ  as  "gang  switches"  or  multiple- 
contact  switches — and  in  truth  this  is  exactly  what  they 
are;  they  are  selective,  multiple  distributors  of  energy. 

There  are  two  principal  varieties  of  coupler:  those 
coupling  at  unison  pitch  (operating  the  note  of  corre- 
sponding pitch  on  another  unit  as  of  the  key  depressed), 
and  those  coupling  at  the  octave  higher  or  lower  than 


40  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

the  pitch  of  the  key  depressed — these  latter  being  known 
as  octave,  or  sub  and  super  couplers.  The  effect  of  the 
different  couplers  is  shown  in  Fig.  12. 

Of  the  two  kinds  the  unison  couplers  are,  of  course,  the 
most  constantly  in  demand,  and  are  found  in  organs  of 
every  size;  the  octave  couplers,  however,  are  more  and 
more  becoming  a  part  of  the  equipment  of  all  organs — 

ST 


§^3^1 


As  Played  Wi'h  Super  & 

With  Unison  With  Sub 

FIG.  12.  EFFECT  OF  OCTAVE  COUPLERS 

even  the  very  smallest — and  are  of  great  value  in  build- 
ing up  quasi-orchestral  effects,  unique  and  odd  solo 
combinations,  and  also — it  must  be  confessed — in  secur- 
ing increased  power  and  brilliancy  from  the  full  organ. 
This  latter  use  should  not  be  required  of  them,  but  we 
regret  to  state  that  it  is  frequently  necessary  to  put  them 
to  this  use;  the  effect  of  the  full  complement  of  speaking- 
stops  should  be  sufficient  in  itself,  and  it  should  not  be 
necessary  to  alter  the  supposedly  scientific  balance  of  the 
full-organ  by  the  addition  of  sub  and  super  couplers. 
Unfortunately  the  question  of  expense  limits  the  specifi- 
cations in  so  many  cases  that  it  is  impossible  to  gainsay 
the  fact  that  couplers  must  very  often  be  used  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  brilliancy  and  "smash"  of  the 
■"full  organ"  of  almost  all  small  organs  and  indeed  of 
many  of  medium  size. 

The  unison  couplers  may  be  subdivided  into  two 
classes:  those  operating  between  manuals,  and  those 
serving  to  couple  a  manual  to  the  pedals.  The  former 
bring  under  control  of  the  hands  the  combined  sonorities 
of  two  or  more  units,  while  the  latter  furnish  the  means 
whereby  the  pedals  may  control  the  proportionate  and 
correct  bass  for  the  manual  combinations  in  use. 


USE   OF    COUPLERS  41 

The  most  commonly  found  manual  couplers  of  unison 
pitch  are  these:  Swell  to  (heat,  Stvell  to  Choir,  Choir  to 
Great,  and  on  the  larger  organs:  Solo  to  Great,  Solo  to 
Swell,  etc.  In  making  your  acquaintance  with  these 
devices  remember  in  reading  them  to  think  of  them  thus : 
Swell  to  Great— the  Swell  organ  coupled  to  the  Great 
manual;  also  fix  firmly  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  part 
'Ho  Great,"  "to  Pedal"  gives  the  clue  as  to  which  manual 
or  clavier  will  receive  the  tonal  reinforcement  mentioned 
by  the  first  term. 

No  system  for  becoming  familiar  with  the  couplers  will 
be  laid  down,  and,  in  fact,  none  will  be  needed;  their  use 
is  constantly  directed  in  the  registration  of  all  organ 
music,  and  moreover — as  the  need  for  them  is  felt  the 
student  will  instinctively  experiment  with  them  and  will 
quickly  find  the  proper  one  for  the  need  felt. 

With  regard  to  the  manual  to  pedal  couplers  a  few 
words  of  advice  may  be  given ;  the  prime  purpose  of  these 
couplers  is  to  place  under  control  of  the  pedals  those 
notes — musically  necessary — which  cannot  be  encom- 
passed by  the  player's  hands.  Considered  in  another 
light — they  supply  resources  needed  to  supplement  the 
usually  limited  number  of  pedal  stops,  and  as  the  pedal 
organ  is  usually  deficient  in  both  variety  and  8  ft.  pitch 
tone,  it  becomes  necessary  to  use,  for  the  most  part,  the 
bass  of  the  manual  tones  in  use  at  the  time,  supplement- 
ing this  with  a  correct  amount  of  16  ft.  tone  (and  8  ft.  if 
available)  from  the  pedals.  In  this  respect  we  work  in 
a  totally  different  manner  from  European  organists 
who  have — in  most  cases — sufficient  pedal  stops  avail- 
able to  enable  them  to  form  their  pedal  registrations 
with  but  little  recourse  to  couplers. 

And  so  in  general  the  student  may  be  directed  to  form 
his  pedal  combinations  by  coupling  the  manual  (accom- 
panying manual  if  a  "solo-stop  piece"  is  in  question)  or 
manuals  in  use  to  the  pedals — then  adding  such  pedal 
stops   as  will   bring  up   the  bass  to   its  proportionate 


42  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN    REGISTRATION 

strength.  As  an  example:  when  using  the  full  Great 
organ,  couple  the  Great  to  the  pedals,  then  add  such 
pedal  stops  as  may  be  necessary  to  support  this  volume 
of  tone — in  all  probability  the  Open  Diapason  of  16  ft., 
together  with  the  Violone  16  ft.,  and  8  ft.  Violoncello — 
if  these  be  available,  or  perhaps  the  16  ft.  Bourdon,  and 
8  ft.  Flute,  depending — of  course — on  the  power  of  the 
Great  organ,  and  the  selection  of  Pedal  stops  at  hand. 

When  the  proposition  is  such  an  one  as  a  solo  for  the 
Oboe,  with  accompaniment  on  the  Great  Dulciana  or 
Melodia,  do  not  make  the  mistake  so  common  among 
beginners  of  letting  the  Bourdon  16  ft.  do  all  the  work, 
but  rather  first  couple  the  accompanying  stop  to  the 
pedals,  and  then  add  the  softest  16  ft.  stop  available 
(Gedeckt)  to  give  the  soft,  unobtrusive  but  permeating 
foundation  to  support  the  whole.  In  the  first  case  the 
result  is  one  of  "top  and  bottom" — and  the  pedal  notes — 
being  of  low  pitch — are  exceedingly  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish; in  fact  the  result  as  a  whole  lacks  pitch 
definition  and  clarity.  In  the  second  case  the  result  is 
logically  produced  and  will  approximate  scientific  balance. 
As  a  practical  demonstration  of  the  folly  of  omitting 
the  couplers  (in  the  majority  of  cases)  the  following  illus- 
tration has  been  included: 


3 


§ 


-8  8  g= 


m 


-o &- 


Ped.  XT  TT 

Assayed     Without  Manual  to  With 

Pedal  Coupler  Coupler 

FIG.  13.  EFFECT  WITH  AND  WITHOUT  COUPLER 


Note  in  the  second  chord  the  tremendous  gap  between 
the  manual  chord  and  the  lonely  pedal  note  far  below 
it — a  result  which  can  in  no  manner  be  construed  as 


USE   OF    COUPLERS  43 

good — transgressing  as  it  does  all  the  laws  of  scientific 
chord  construction;  observe  how  the  coupler  supplies 
the  needed  connection. 

The  uses  of  the  sub  and  super,  or  4-ft.  and  16-ft.  cou- 
plers— as  they  are  often  termed,  will  be  learned  most 
easily  by  the  student  devoting  a  portion  of  his  time  to 
experimenting  with  them — noting  their  effect  on  differ- 
ent combinations.  While  no  rules  can  be  given  for  their 
use,  a  few  hints  may  be  included  which  may  help  in 
comprehending  their  most  effective  uses. 

First  and  foremost  this  advice  may  be  offered:  use 
sub-  and  super-couplers  as  producers  of  new  effects 
among  soft  and  mezzo  combinations  for  the  most  part, 
reserving  their  use  as  producers  of  power  and  brilliancy 
for  rare  cases  where  absolutely  needed.  The  English 
composer,  Lemare,  has — probably  more  than  any  other 
composer  of  organ  music — pointed  out  the  effects  of 
most  value  obtainable  with  octave  couplers,  and  his 
works  should  be  studied  for  the  light  they  throw  on 
these  matters;  in  his  charming  Spring  Song  (to  note 
but  one  example)  he  directs  that  the  accompaniment 
to  the  cello-like  solo  shall  be  on  the  Strings  with  Gedeckt 
and  Super-coupler — an  effect  which — simple  as  it  is,  and 
not  by  any  means  novel  today — seems  to  shimmer  like 
the  sunlight.  In  the  forming  of  solo  combinations  such 
a  grouping  as:  Swell  Strings  and  4  ft.  Flute  with  Sitb- 
coupler  gives  an  effect  which  cannot  be  produced  from 
speaking-stops  alone.  A  very  good  example  of  sub-cou- 
pling on  a  melody  is  to  be  found  in  William  Reed's 
I  nter  mezzo. 

Instances  could  be  multiplied  ad  infinitum;  trumpet 
passages  such  as  fanfares  are  often  rendered  doubly 
effective  by  the  addition  of  a  sub-  or  super-coupler  (rarely 
both)  which  coupler  depending  upon  the  tessitura 
of  the  particular  passage  and  the  amount  and  character 
of  the  accompaniment  to  it. 

Cross-coupling  of  manuals  on  even  a  fair-sized  organ 


44 


A    PRIMER    OF    ORG  AX    REGI  ST  RATIOS 


opens  a  tremendous  field  of  color  work;  super-couple  a 
combination  from  the  Choir  organ  to  the  Great,  sub- 


MANUALS 


INTERMEZZO 

Tempo  I 

Chmp  Clnr.  with  Sub  octave 


WILLIAM  REED 


PEDAL 


E 


ni-  n 


mp 


t\  a  u         Sw  p  8"   (without  reed) 

S'll",Pi  tii 


^¥« »    J      j     J-3 


^ 


£ 


Pl^P 


^ 


Copyright   MCMVll  b>   Oliver  Ditson  Company 
International  Copyright  Secured 


FIG.  14 


couple  a  Swell  combination  to  the  Great — use  unison 
combinations  from  these  manuals  to  the  Great — or  omit 


USE    OF    COUPLERS  45 

one  of  them  for  sake  of  experiment,  draw  soft  combina- 
tions on  all  manuals — with  the  Great  and  Choir  slightly 
predominating,  and  the  result  will  astound  you.  Pro- 
nounced orchestral  effects  are  obtained  by  these  meth- 
ods, and  enough  has  doubtless  been  said  to  lead  you  to 
experiment  freely  in  this  wonderfully  prolific   field   of 

color. 

On  organs  lacking  a  full  complement  of  "upper-work," 
i.  e.,  stops  of  4  ft.,  %\  ft.,  %  ft.,  and  Mixtures,  or 
perhaps  only  partially  complete  in  these  lines,  you 
will  be  compelled  to  resort  to  the  use  of  super-coupling 
to  relieve  the  effect  of  "muddiness"  and  lack  of  bril- 
liancy; do  this  with  the  most  extreme  moderation, 
however,  and  whenever  possible  omit  the  supers — if  it  be 
for  only  a  few  measures.  Nothing  is  more  wearying  than 
long-continued  use  of  super-couplers! 

If  you  have  a  Swell  organ  of  ten  stops  and  if — as 
happens  all  too  frequently  these  days — eight  of  these 
are  of  8  ft.  pitch,  and  the  others  comprise  a  16  ft. 
Bourdon,  and  a  4  ft.  Flute,  it  is  self-evident  that  you  must 
of  necessity  use  super-couplers  to  a  greater  or  lesser 
degree  in  very  much  of  your  work;  it  will  be  practically 
essential  on  almost  all  full  Swell  combinations,  and  with 
full  Great  combinations  you  will  many  times  need  to 
couple  the  Swell  at  the  super-octave  as  well  as  at  the 
unison  pitch  for  the  sake  of  brilliancy.  Let  your  ear  be 
the  judge,  however,  and  whenever  the  "lay"  of  the 
music  takes  you  into  the  higher  octaves  of  the  claviers 
for  any  length  of  time  try  to  do  without  the  super- 
couplers  if  possible. 

In  leading  and  accompanying  the  singing  of  a  congre- 
gation the  slightest  tendency  to  flatten  in  pitch  should 
be  the  signal  to  you  for  additional  higher-pitched  stops 
or  super-couplers;  in  the  organ  selections,  however,  the 
ear  must  be  the  judge  as  to  the  clarity  of  the  effects  being 
produced. 

In  like  manner  but  in  the  opposite  direction  are  the 


46  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

sufc-couplers  useful — though  not  to  anything  like  the 
extent  to  which  the  super-couplers  are;  should  a  com- 
bination seem  "top-heavy"  or  "screamy" — as  it  is 
sometimes  described — it  is  because  there  is  wanting  tone 
of  graver  pitch,  i.  e.,  16  ft.  pitch,  and  you  should  supply 
this  either  by  stop  or  coupler,  preferably  the  former  of 
course  but  using  the  latter  where  adequate  tonal  pro- 
vision has  not  been  made.  Sub-couplers  must  be  used  with 
even  greater  moderation  than  supers;  in  general  it  may  be 
said  that  sub-couplers  are  most  useful  on  solo  combina- 
tions, and  super-couplers  on  mezzo  effects  in  full  har- 
mony. But  with  all  octave  couplers  it  is  wise  to  be  most 
sparing,  cautious  and  moderate. 


Four  Manual  Console  with  Speaking  Stops  Arranged  in  Jambs 

Placed  at  45°;  Couplers  Controlled  by  Tilting  Tablets. 

(E.  M.  Skinner  Co.,  Boston) 


CHAPTER  VII 

Choir,  Solo  Voice  and  Hymn  Accompanying 

As  we  near  the  end  of  our  brief  survey  of  the  art  of 
registration  it  seems  well  to  include  a  few  general  re- 
marks on  the  subject  of  registration  in  connection  with 
the  use  of  the  organ  as  an  accompanying  instrument. 
In  the  work  of  the  services  of  the  church  the  student 
should  at  once  realize  that  the  organ  cannot  and  must 
not  be  regarded  as  a  solo  instrument,  for  the  obtrusion 
of  personality  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  things  ecclesias- 
tical ;  the  organist  must  in  this  phase  of  his  work  be  will- 
ing to  submerge  himself  and  his  personal  claims  for 
attention  as  a  performer,  contenting  himself  with  the 
knowledge  that  those  among  his  listeners  whose  opinions 
he  values  will  appreciate  him  at  his  true  worth  even 
though  his  service  work  be  characterized  by  the  utmost 
degree  of  self-effacement.  The  whole  perspective  in 
church  service  work  is  totally  different  from  the  require- 
ments for  recital  work,  and  the  remarks  in  this  chapter 
must  be  regarded  as  bearing  only  on  the  former  phase  of 
the  work. 

We  will  consider  the  use  of  the  organ  in  this  work — 
First:  In  the  accompanying  of  solo  voices  and  the  choir, 
and,  Second:  In  accompanying  the  congregational 
singing. 

The  first  attribute  of  a  successful  accompanist  of  both 
solo  voices  and  also  voices  in  groups  is  a  feeling  for  bal- 
ance— good  judgment  as  to  the  proper  volume  and 
quality  of  tone  to  employ  together  with  that  subtle  sense 
of  understanding  of  a  singer's  needs  which  for  a  better 
term  may  be  defined  as  "team-work."     Moreover,  the 


48  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

really  fine  accompanist  must  know  when  to  play  the 
subordinate  part,  and  when  to  assume  the  temporary 
leadership — "taking  the  reins"  to  save  some  struggling 
singer  from  disaster;  this  is  a  matter  of  instinct  with  some 
fortunate  persons,  but  it  can  be  cultivated  to  some  degree 
by  all.  Extreme  watchfulness  in  all  relations  between 
the  instrumental  and  the  vocal  forces  may  in  truth  be 
urged,  for  then — if  ever — are  the  calls  upon  the  player 
most  complicated;  technical  mastery  of  the  instrument 
is  almost  imperative. 

It  may  be  asked  what  quality  or  qualities  of  tone  are 
generically  best  suited  to  the  different  voices,  and  to  this 
query  a  definite  answer  is  virtually  impossible;  but  it 
may  be  stated  in  a  general  way  that  predominance  of 
Flute  tone  is  advisable  with  many  Soprano  voices,  that 
frequently  it  will  be  found  well  to  rely  mostly  on  Strings 
for  support  of  Altos,  that  Tenors  as  a  class  are  safely 
accompanied  by  a  combination  of  Strings  and  Flutes, 
and  that  soft  Reeds  in  combination  with  other  soft  stops 
are  of  value  with  many  Bass  voices. 

Little  more  can  be  said.  Voices  are — like  organ  tones 
— of  thousand-fold  varieties,  and  the  casual  hints  given 
above  should  be  regarded  as  only  suggesting  the  'pre- 
dominating tone  to  try  with  the  voice.  Much  can  be 
done  however  to  alleviate  deficiencies  in  the  voice  to  be 
accompanied  by  a  skillful  selection  of  tones  calculated 
to  neutralize  or  relieve  an  unpleasant  quality  in  a  voice; 
with  voices  inclined  to  the  hard,  penetrating  type  it  is 
well  to  be  sparing  with  Reeds  or  Strings — relying  mostly 
on  full,  round-tone  Diapasons  and  Flutes,  while  with 
voices  of  a  muffled,  throaty  or  "fuzzy"  quality  a  rather 
more  decisive,  keen  quality  of  accompaniment  may  be 
desirable— thus  supplying  the  element  of  definition  lack- 
ing in  the  voice.  Were  the  registration  adapted  with 
any  other  principle  in  view  it  would  be  quickly  found  that 
the  unpleasant  characteristic  was  only  aggravated  and 
rendered  more  noticeable. 


CHOIR,    SOLO    AND    HYMN    ACCOMPANYING  49 

Singers  frequently  wander  from  the  piteh,  and  the 
organist  can  be  of  great  assistance  in  such  cases.  If  the 
trouble  is  a  tendency  to  flatten  it  is  a  sure  indication  that 
more  of  the  "upper-work"  (stops  of  4  ft.  2  ft.  pitch) 
is  needed;  should  the  rarer  sharping  be  encountered 
add  more  Reed  and  String  tone,  and  during  the  inter- 
ludes thicken  the  tone  with  Diapasons.  In  both  cases 
slightly  increasing  the  power  during  the  interludes  will 
help,  and  should  the  case  be  a  very  pronounced  one  it  is 
wise  to  be  fairly  generous  with  the  power  supporting  the 
singer — for  a  reasonable  increase  of  power  will  often 
carry  a  singer  through  where  a  meticulous  withholding 
of  it  might  result  in  a  complete  and  ignominious  collapse! 
In  the  accompanying  of  all  singers  however,  it  is  well  to 
make  your  maxim  that  of  giving  support  with  blending 
tones — reserving  the  stops  that  contrast  for  more  limited 
use  in  the  interludes  and  in  short  thematic  passages; 
variety,  therefore,  is  to  be  sought  only  as  secondary  to 
support  and  aid  for  the  singer. 

The  questions  of  fitting  tone  quality  do  not  apply  in 
anything  like  as  great  a  degree  to  the  accompanying  of 
the  choir  (either  the  chorus  or  quartet  forms)  as  is  the 
case  with  individual  singers ;  the  problem  becomes  largely 
one  of  balance  fittingly  achieved  and  selection  of  quality 
or  qualities  of  tone  which  shall  make  most  effective  the 
part  assigned  to  the  organ.  If  the  music  be  so  scored 
that  the  main  interest  is  with  the  voices  and  but  little  of 
independent  interest  is  given  the  organ,  it  is  clearly  the 
duty  of  the  organist  to  furnish  an  unobtrusive  support  for 
the  voices  and  nothing  more  than  that!  But,  should  the 
organ  part  contain  thematic  matter  of  independent 
interest  (as  is  becoming  more  and  more  the  case  as  com- 
posers are  writing  anthems  of  greater  effectiveness) — 
then  surely  this  part  also  should  be  so  treated  that  it  will 
prove  interesting  as  well.  The  singers  should  not  be  sub- 
merged— far  from  it;  but  the  player  should  cause  his 
part  of  the  composition  to  stand  forth  enough  to  be 


50  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

realized — or  as  it  has  been  put:  "to  cut  through  without 
overpowering";  this  is  best  produced  by  a  contrast  of 
quality,  whenever  possible,  and  not  through  mere  domi- 
nation by  strength  alone. 

Turning  to  the  subject  of  congregational  singing,  and 
the  accompanying  of  it  by  the  organist,  we  are  confronted 
by  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance :  the  singing  of  the 
people,  accompanied  and  led  by  the  choir  and  organ  is 
the  musical  backbone  of  the  service. 

The  organist's  part  in  the  congregational  singing  is  a 
two-function  one:  he  must  accompany  and  he  must  also 
lead.  He  must  enunciate  the  tempo  and  rhythm — the 
two  essentials  of  all  singing  by  masses;  he  must  see  to  it 
that  the  tempo  he  designates  is  adhered  to — permitting 
no  "dragging"  whatsoever,  and  he  should  try  to  lead  the 
people  (in  so  far  as  is  humanly  possible)  in  bringing  out 
at  least  the  principal  moods  and  meanings  of  the  text  of 
the  hymns.  By  this  is  not  meant  that  he  should  be 
ceaselessly  varying  the  volume  of  tone,  tempi  and  tone- 
color  in  that  pernicious  manner  which  has  developed  of 
late  years— and  which  is  often  called  "accompanying 
the  hymns" — a  procedure  which  is  to  be  mercilessly 
condemned  as  theatrical,  secular  in  feeling,  and  distract- 
ing and  disturbing  to  the  members  of  the  congregation. 

It  is  not  necessary  or  artistic  to  give  out  one  line 
fortissimo,  following  it  immediately  by  a  sentimental 
pianissimo  on  the  next  line;  this  is  not  art,  indeed  it  is 
not  even  good  taste!  If  it  seems  best  to  obtain  variety 
by  this  line-by-line  method  let  it  be  in  the  manner  sug- 
gested in  the  registration  of  the  hymn  Laudes  Domini  as 
shown  in  Fig.  15,  where  it  will  be  seen  that  the  changes 
are  of  quality  rather  than  quantity — thereby  mirroring 
the  spirit  of  the  text  and  with  all  the  volume  will  not 
vary  in  a  greater  degree  than  would  be  expressed  by 
the  marks  mf  and  f.  In  brief,  the  congregation  should 
be  led  to  sing  the  hymn  in  the  general  mood  and  style  of 
the  entire  hymn,  and  not  in  a  petty  line-by-line  attempt 


CHOIR,    SOLO    AND    HYMN    ACCOMPANYING 


51 


at  interpretation;  Rock  of  Ages  demands  one  mood 
throughout,  and  How  Firm  a  Foundation  a  totally  differ- 
ent one.  If  the  words  demand  a  change  of  mood — then 
let  the  organ  denote  that  change  as  subtly  as  a  pool 

WHEN  MORNING  GILDS  THE  SKIES 


LAUDES  DOMINI 


ORGAN 


JOSEPH   BARNBV 


When  morn-ing-gilds  the     skies,         My     heart  a-  wak-ing        cries 


I 


Z*r 


-&-+ 


(Add  Full  Sw.) 


sjnrt 


9 


(Gt    Diapason  off ) 


J 


m 


~n 


May       Je-sus  Christ  be        praised        A        like  at   work  and      prayer 


I 


£ 


%m 


J  (Add  diapason) 


"ET 


fj       r. 


fe£=£ 


YT 


k=A 


E 


r 


&'• 


To      Je-sus    I      re    -    pair:  May      Je    -     sus     Christ  be  praised 

FIG.   15 


mirroring  the  changing  clouds  above  it,  with  an  almost 
imperceptible  dissolving  of  one  mood  into  another; 
sudden  and  unlooked-for  changes  are  most  disconcerting 
to  the  layman  in  the  congregation  and  if  persisted  in 
will  result  in  but  one  thing: — the  layman  will  shut  his 


52 


A    PRIMER    OF    ORGAX    REGISTRATION 


hymn-book  and  stop  trying  to  sing— and  this  should  be 
the  last  thing  permitted  to  happen. 

In  "giving-out"  the  hymn  some  latitude  in  the  matter 
of  variety  is  of  course  permissible;  we  here  give  a  simple 
registration  for  the  hymn  Seymour — showing  what  can 
be  done  in  the  line  of  varying  the  solo  stops  without 
resorting  to  abrupt  dynamic  changes. 

SOFTLY  NOW  THE  LIGHT  OP  DAY 


SEYMOUR 


MANUALS' 


PEDAL 


ft    mP 

m 


Gt.  Garaba  (Sw.  to  Gt.) 


Arr.  from  WEBER 
Gamba  off    add  8'  Flute 


S 


mm 


/>Sw.  soft  8'rtqps 


H 


Pr 


m 


fpf 


Soft  ifi-  Sw.  to  Ped 


3S 


m 


£ 


M 


m 


& 


W 


Add  4'  Flute 


Flutes  off,  add  Gamba 


3 


^m 


s 


m 


za 


te 


3j 


I 


f 


m 


W 


w 


t*t 


tr 


gr 


m 


m 


£ 


FIG.   16 

With  all  quartet  choirs  and  with  the  majority  of  small 
chorus  choirs  the  author  would  urge  that  the  leader 
adopt  unison  singing  for  most  of  the  hymn  work; 
the  united  volume  and  decisiveness  of  the  combined 
voices  singing  the  melody  supported  by  ample  volume 
from  the  organ  will  raise  the  standard  of  congregational 
singing  in  any  church  in  a  marvelously  short  time. 
Make  no  mistake :  we  do  not  urge  that  choirs  of  40  to  50 


CHOIR,    SOLO   AND   HYMN   ACCOMPANYING  53 

or  more  voices  cease  singing  in  parts,  although  even  with 
such  bodies  of  singers  there  are  times  when  unison  singing 
lends  a  majesty  and  dignity  of  effect  simply  over- 
whelming; rather  do  we  plead  that  it  is  absurd  to  expect 
one  soprano  voice  to  furnish  sufficient  strength  and 
leading  power  on  the  melody  against  three  other  voices 
and  the  organ.  In  fact  with  small  chorus  choirs  (up 
to  16  or  20  in  number)  the  leading  power  of  the  sopranos 
is  so  limited  as  to  render  the  adoption  of  some  other 
factor  desirable;  this  factor  will  be  discovered  in  the 
united  singing  of  the  melody  by  all  the  voices.  There  will 
be  times  when  it  will  be  desirable  to  transpose  a  hymn 
a  tone  or  two  lower  to  render  it  comfortable  for  the  altos 
and  basses,  but  this  is  more  or  less  true  of  all  hymns  as 
sung  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and  so  does  not  complicate 
the  matter  at  all,  and  makes  it  much  easier  for  the  lay 
singer  to  add  his  voice  to  that  of  the  trained  singers  in 
the  choir-loft.  The  voices  so  united  should  be  supported 
by  a  "fat"  registration:  Diapasons,  Flutes — in  both  8  ft. 
and  4  ft.,  as  the  foundation,  with  a  judicious  admixture 
of  strings  and  reeds — together  or  alternately — to  give 
the  element  of  variety. 

Such  a  heavy  mass  of  foundation  tone  is  really  a 
necessity  in  leading  the  singing  of  the  congregation;  most 
untrained  singers  are  literally  afraid  of  the  sound  of  their 
own  voices  and  before  they  can  be  persuaded  to  attempt 
singing  must  be  made  to  feel  that  there  is  suff cient 
volume  from  organ  and  choir  to  make  it  unlikely  that 
their  individual  voices  will  be  heard  all  over  the  church! 
The  author  hopes  that  those  reading  these  paragraphs 
will  not  regard  this  as  a  plea  for  thundering  blasts  from 
the  organ  during  the  hymns;  nothing  could  be  less 
desired.  The  plea  is  for  support,  not  noise;  support 
enough  to  reach  and  reassure  the  timid  soul  in  the  last 
pew,  but  still  not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  deafen  the  ones 
in  the  front  of  the  church.  Virility,  strong  accent, 
rhythm,  and  ample  volume  of  Diapasons  and   Flutes 


54  A    PRIMER    OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

(with   little   of  heavy   reeds) — these   are   the   essential 
requirements. 

And  finally — do  not  become  standardized  in  your 
registrations — satisfied  with  a  few  stock  combinations 
to  be  used  on  any  and  all  hymns.  Try  to  make  some 
slight  variation  in  the  registration  of  each  hymn  during 
a  service;  the  practical  combinations  which  may  be  used 
in  accompanying  a  congregation  are  quite  numerous. 
Super-coupling  soft  Swell  combinations  to  the  founda- 
tion tone  of  the  Great  organ  opens  countless  beautiful 
effects  and  does  so  without  disturbing  the  supporting 
qualities  in  the  least.  With  these  suggestions  we  leave 
the  reader  to  study  the  matter  for  himself;  we  cannot 
urge  too  emphatically,  however,  the  importance  of  giving 
careful  study  to  these — and  all  other — details  of  church 
work,  for  after  all  it  is  in  the  church  that  the  organ 
finds  its  greatest  sphere  of  usefulness.  True — it  is  fast 
becoming  converted  to  secular  uses  and  will  probably 
be  so  used  more  and  more  with  each  passing  year;  but  it 
is  likely  that  the  student  will  continue  to  find  the  most 
frequent  opportunity  for  his  work  in  the  church,  and  the 
proper  use  of  the  instrument  in  church  surroundings 
must  be  thoughtfully  considered  by  all  who  would  make 
a  success  of  their  work. 


Console  with  Inclined  Manuals  and  Stop-Keys  Controlling 

Speaking  Stops  and  Couplers. 

(Austin  Organ  Co.,  Hartford,  Conn.) 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Some  Practical  Suggestions 

There  remain  some  thoughts  on  registration  which  it 
has  not  seemed  wise  to  include  in  any  of  the  foregoing 
chapters,  together  with  a  few  suggestions  as  to  special 
but  useful  effects  which  should  be  added.  These 
thoughts  will  be  set  down  in  no  preconsidered  order  and 
must  be  regarded  as  hints  to  be  referred  to  from  time  to 
time — especially  during  the  frequent  self  -catechism  al 
questionings  which  should  be  made  a  matter  of  routine 
by  all  musicians,  young  or  old. 

First.  Endeavor  to  assimilate  and  incorporate  in 
your  work  the  principle  of  moderation  in  tonal  changes; 
make  it  a  cardinal  rule  to  avoid  unpleasantly  sharp  con- 
trasts— laying-on  or  taking-off  the  color  in  thin  layers, 
so  to  speak,  rather  than  by  applications  of  huge  splotches 
thrown  at  the  tonal  canvas.  This  is,  of  course,  only 
another  plea  for  smoothness  and  technical  finish,  but  it 
is  a  most  important  point. 

Second.  While  bearing  in  mind  the  above  point  we 
would  also  advise  the  student  to  make  a  practice  of 
sometimes  totally  changing  the  character  of  the  tone  in 
use — without  necessarily  changing  its  volume  to  any  extent. 
As  an  example:  during  some  selection  you  have  been 
using  combinations  of  strings  and  flutes  for  the  most 
part;  if  the  construction  of  the  piece  will  permit,  try 
using,  during  some  passage,  or  passages,  the  totally 
different  tone  of  the  Swell  Open  Diapason,  and  note  what 
an  agreeable  contrast  is  offered  to  the  ear.  Or,  if  you 
have  been  mainly  using  strings,  try  using  the  pure 
Flutes  alone  for  a  part  of  the  piece;  this  occasional  use  of 


56  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN    REGISTRATION 

prime  tones  is  a  grateful  relief  to  the  ear  and  furnishes 
valuable  contrast  to  the  more  constant  use  of  mixed 
combinations. 

At  first  glance  it  might  be  thought  that  this  suggestion 
and  the  one  preceding  are  of  antipathetic  nature,  but 
such  in  reality  is  not  the  case;  the  explanation  is  this: 
gradual  changes  are  best  for  use  during  the  progress  of 
sections  of  a  composition,  while  the  sharp  contrasts 
naturally  are  most  valuable  at  those  points  where  the 
natural  sectional  divisions  of  a  composition  occur.  To 
illustrate:  a  composition  written  in  "song  form  with  trio 
section"  will  call  into  play  both  principles  of  registration, 
for  during  the  progress  of  the  first  two  or  three  divisions 
the  registration  should  be  of  a  gradually  changing  nature 
which  moderation  will  meet  with  an  effective  contrast  if 
— upon  arrival  at  the  trio  section — the  registration  be 
decidedly  altered,  both  as  to  quality  and  volume,  and  a  re- 
inforcement of  contrast  will  be  attained  by  a  decided 
return  to  the  tonal  methods  of  the  first  sections  upon  the 
re-statement  of  them  in  the  composition. 

The  plan  of  contrasting  tones  at  the  principal  points 
of  division  of  a  composition  has  the  desirable  effect  of 
aiding  the  listener  in  grasping  at  least  the  elements  of  the 
design  of  the  composition.  An  effective  use  of  the  Solo 
Tuba  for  phrase  contrast  (which  is  only  an  elementary 
form  of  the  sectional  contrast  we  speak  of)  has  been 
made  in  Richard  Keys  Biggs'  arrangement  for  organ  of 
Charles  Fonteyn  Manney's  Prelude  and  Christmas  Pas- 
toral from  "The  Manger  Throne" — the  tonal  contrast 
aiding  and  abetting  the  natural  musical  contrast  of  the 
phrases  in  which  it  is  employed. 

A  similar  treatment  mav  well  be  accorded  Marcus  H. 
Carroll's  Festival  March — the  first  six  measures  being 
given  to  stops  of  the  Tuba  or  Trumpet  type,  the  Great 
organ  entering  with  the  chords  of  measure  7,  thus 
showing  plainly  that  the  first  measures  are  in  reality  an 
introduction  to  the  main  body  of  the  composition  which 


PRACTICAL    SUGGESTIONS 


57 


PRELUDE  and  CHRISTMAS  PASTORAL 

From  "THE  MANGER  THRONE" 


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Prepare  /Choir:  Full  (Ch.  to  Gt.) 

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CHARLES    FONTEYN   MANNEY 
Arranged  by  Richard  Keys  Biggs 

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58 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


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PRACTICAL    SUGGESTIONS  59 

follows.  Instances  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely  but 
enough  has  undoubtedly  been  said  to  illustrate  the 
worth  of  this  simple  principle. 

Third.  Learn  when,  and  when  not  to  use  tremolos  and 
stops  of  the  Celeste  (vibrato)  type;  for  many  years  it  has 
been  the  fad  of  purists  to  practically  insist  that  these 
stops  were  the  desolation  of  all  that  was  abominable— 
a  viewpoint  not  without  some  foundation  when  based 
on  early  specimens  of  the  stops  in  question.  However, 
with  the  present  perfection  of  the  tremolo  and  the 
various  beautiful  String  and  Flute  Celeste  stops  these 
mandates  can  well  be  relegated  to  the  forgotten  past; 
the  modern  tremolo  is  in  reality  a  slow-speed  vibrato — 
quite  different  from  the  old  flu ttering-bird- wing  devices, 
and  the  Celeste  stops  infuse  an  orchestral  warmth  in  the 
same  way  as  the  duplication  of  string  instruments  in  the 
orchestra  produces  a  "liveness"  of  tone  attainable  in  no 
other  way.  It  may  well  be  pointed  out  that  the  tremolo 
is  most  desirable  with  those  stops  which  in  the  orchestral 
instruments  of  which  they  are  the  representatives  are 
naturally  susceptible  to  vibrato  treatment,  viz:  the 
String  stops  {Cello,  Viol  d'Orchestre,  Viol  Celeste,  Vox 
Celeste).  It  is  particularly  desirable  also,  that  when 
playing  transcriptions  of  music  written  for  the  orchestra 
the  tremolos  be  omitted  from  the  stops  representing  the 
wood-wind  band  (Oboe,  Clarinet,  Bassoon,  English  Horn, 
etc.) — thus  preserving  more  nearly  the  natural  color  and 
technic  of  the  original;  note  that  we  do  not  advise  that 
the  tremolos  be  unused  with  these  stops  as  a  general 
practice,  but  especially  and  particularly  with  orchestral 
transcriptions.  It  is  also  the  part  of  wisdom  to  omit 
tremolos  during  passages  of  short  and  rapid  notes — as 
the  occasional  conjunction  of  some  of  the  short  notes  at 
the  exact  moments  when  the  tremolo  is  releasing  a  puff 
of  air  will  often  result  in  faulty  speech  or  incorrect  in- 
tonation from  a  reed  pipe;  naturally  therefore,  tremolos 
are   most  effective   with   long,   flowing   and   expressive 


60  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN    REGISTRATION 

melodies — such  passages  as  a  violinist  would  naturally 
treat  with  considerable  of  the  "wrist-vibrato."  Our  best 
players  are  making  use  of  these  stops  to  an  extent  un- 
dreamed of  even  by  performers  of  a  generation  ago,  and 
too  much  thought  cannot  be  given  to  their  artistic  use. 

Fourth.  In  playing  passages  which  lack  inherent 
rhythmic  interest — i.  e.,  passages  of  notes  of  the  same 
time  value,  etc. — use  an  expressive  division  of  the  organ, 
or  such  a  division  coupled  to  an  unexpressive  one  if  the 
latter  be  thought  necessary;  the  reason  for  this  should 
be  self-evident:  to  substitute  for  the  lack  of  rhythmic 
interest  the  delicious  dynamics  produced  by  the  expres- 
sion levers.  The  modern  organ — in  common  with  all  in- 
struments of  true  artistic  capacity — offers  ample  facilities 
for  shading  and  there  is  absolutely  no  justification  for 
continuance  of  the  methods  which  were  fostered  by  and 
which  were  the  result  of  the  limitations  of  the  organ  of  a 
generation  ago;  therefore,  you  should  not  be  content  to 
pursue  archaic  methods  when  more  artistic  ones  have 
been  made  possible.  Make  your  playing  as  expressive 
as  that  of  any  other  solo  instrument. 

Fifth.  Try  to  make  your  console  manipulations  in  a 
systematic  manner;  avoid  a  wild  and  fluttering  uncer- 
tainty of  the  hands — here,  there  and  everywhere  among 
the  stops  and  couplers!  Plan  just  what  changes  will  be 
needed  at  each  point  in  a  composition  and  then  arrange 
a  logical  order  for  making  them.  Try  to  work  around 
from  one  side  of  the  console  to  the  other,  or  from  the 
center  out  (fan-shape)  or,  occasionally,  from  the  extreme 
edges  in  toward  the  center,  etc.  Perhaps  the  changes 
will  be  partially  accomplished  by  use  of  pistons:  if  so 
decide  with  which  hand  the  pistons  shall  be  manipu- 
lated; if  two  pistons  must  be  used  at  nearly  the  same 
moment  decide  which  one  shall  be  used  first,  and  if 
couplers  are  also  to  be  changed  plan  in  advance  whether 
the  stops  or  the  couplers  shall  be  changed  first  and  which 
hand  can  best  be  spared  for  the  operation. 


PRACTICAL    SUGGESTIONS 
Not  This  — 


61 


Suvll 

Ped 

Couplers 

Great 

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But  This  — 


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Couplers 


Great 


or- 


FIG.   19.     (a)   INEFFICIENT    AND   (b)   EFFICIENT  MOVEMENTS 

AT  THE   CONSOLE 

A  quiet  demeanor  at  the  console  is  most  restful  to  the 
observer,  and  unquestionably  tends  to  inspire  confidence 
in  the  members  of  the  choir;  a  choir  can  be  thrown  into 
confusion  by  the  sight  of  their  leader  floundering  among 
the  stops  in  nervous  uncertainty.  It  is  much  better  to 
limit  your  registration  changes  to  the  irreducible  mini- 
mum— making  those  only  which  you  can  make  with 
sureness  and  speed— than  to  run  the  risk  of  breaking  the 
rhythmic  flow  of  the  choir  selections,  for  even  a  trained 
choir  can  be  badly  disconcerted  by  even  a  very  slight 
unexpected  pause. 

Sixth.  Avoid  uneven  and  spasmodic  use  of  the  ex- 
pression levers.  It  is  trite  to  direct  that  swell  pedals  be 
not  "pumped";  however,  many  students  fail  to  realize 
that  the  vital  point  of  the  matter  is  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  open  the  box  to  its  widest  limits  every  time  it  is 
desired  to  make  a  crescendo!  Your  teacher  will  un- 
doubtedly see  to  it  that  you  do  not  acquire  the  vicious 
pumping  habit,  but  you,  yourself,  must  be  always  striv- 
ing to  attain  mastery  of  the  more  delicate  and  subtle 
shading  made  possible  by  the  modern  swell-box—  "The 


62  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

Soul  of  the  Organ" — as  it  has  been  rightly  called.  Make 
no  mistake:  we  are  not  directing  that  the  swells  be  always 
used  for  gradual  crescendos — quite  the  contrary!  One 
of  the  most  valuable  possibilities  of  the  modern  electric 
swell  engine  is  the  ability  to  produce  short,  emphatic 
sforzando  accents  by  quick  pressure  and  immediate 
return  of  the  pedal  through  a  short  distance.  What  we 
aim  to  make  clear  is  the  vital  fact  that  it  is  not  necessary 
nor  desirable  that  the  swell-box  be  completely  opened  and 
closed  every  time  it  is  desired  to  make  use  of  it;  rather 
may  it  be  said  that  the  swells  should  be  used  with 
considerable  frequency — but  with  extreme  moderation  in 
the  degree  to  which  they  are  used. 

Seventh.  If  the  pistons  on  your  organ  are  of  the 
adjustable  type  set  on  them  the  combinations  for  which 
you  will  have  most  constant  need;  it  is  well  to  have  ready 
for  instant  use  several  pistons  with  combinations  of 
general  use  in  connection  with  choir  and  congregational 
accompanying.  A  couple  of  pistons  set  with  stops  for 
hymn  playing  are  exceedingly  handy — especially  where 
the  service  moves  rapidly  and  there  is  little  time  for 
hand  setting,  as  for  instance  where  a  hymn  follows 
immediately  upon  an  anthem.  Do  not  set  many  pistons 
with  loud  combinations;  leave  the  last  stop  or  two  (the 
most  powerful  as  a  rule)  for  adding  by  hand,  or  by 
crescendo  or  sforzando  pedal.  By  doing  so  you  always 
have  something  left,  after  running-up  on  the  pistons,  for 
a  final  addition  to  the  climax;  a  more  gradual  crescendo 
and  diminuendo  is  thus  possible  than  where  the  full 
organ  is  set  on  the  pistons  themselves.  Should  the 
pistons  be  of  the  non-adjustable  type — happily  becoming 
rarer  with  every  passing  year— you  will  be  compelled 
to  rely  more  upon  hand  manipulation,  using  where 
possible  a  piston  drawing  nearly  what  you  require  and 
then  altering  by  hand  the  stops  drawn  by  that  piston. 
Use  the  flat  of  the  hand,  the  back  of  the  hand,  or  even 
the  wrist  at  times,  in  making  changes;  it  is  often  possible 


PRACTICAL    SUGGESTIONS  63 

to  so  spread  the  hand  that  with  one  motion  as  much  can 
be  accomplished  as  would  require  two  or  three  motions 
of  the  fingers  in  the  conventional  position. 

Eighth.  When  you  have  passed  the  novice  stage,  do 
not  be  afraid  to  completely  alter  the  registration  of  a 
composition  if  you  can  find  one  better  suited  to  it  on  your 
particular  organ.  The  chances  are  that  the  composer — 
were  he  to  come  to  your  organ — would  himself  use  a  very 
different  scheme  of  registration  from  the  one  indicated 
on  the  printed  copy;  knowing  the  manifold  variations  in 
voicing  of  organ  stops  and  the  innumerable  differences  in 
specifications  and  equipment  of  organs,  composers  are 
virtually  driven  to  indicating  upon  their  works  only  the 
most  general  and  superficial  hints  as  to  the  registration 
desired.  Regard  all  indicated  registrations  as  clues  only, 
not  as  hard-and-fast  commands  to  be  slavishly  followed; 
the  tempo,  tessitura,  mood,  degree  of  complexity,  etc. — 
all  these  factors  must  be  taken  into  consideration. 

Ninth.  Although  this  is  not  a  textbook  of  organ 
playing  in  general,  the  author  cannot  refrain  from  making 
a  plea — in  closing — for  greater  clarity  in  playing. 
Clarity — that  essence  of  all  fine  art,  without  which  the 
efforts  of  the  most  heav'n-endowed  genius  stand  for 
naught!  Co-existent  with  striving  for  good  effects  should 
be  an  equally  strong  desire  for  clean-cut  phrasing, 
accurate  finger  work,  clear  "live"  pedaling,  a  staccato 
touch  which  "ripples,"  a  pearly  semi-staccato,  a  legato 
which  connects  but  does  not  overlap — in  short,  all  the 
technical  details  that  taken  together  consummate  in 
artistic  organ  playing.  The  day  of  slipshod,  muddy 
playing  has  gone,  and  in  its  place  we  find  the  day  of 
modern  technical  methods  as  applied  to  the  organ;  it  can 
safely  be  stated  that  no  organist — however  highly  en- 
dowed by  nature — can,  in  this  day,  reach  to  and  con- 
tinue to  hold  any  considerable  degree  of  success  unless 
adequately  equipped  technically.  The  wide  scope 
of  usefulness  for  the   King  of  Instruments  has  opened 


64  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN    REGISTRATION 

a  vast  field  for  players  well  equipped,  and  the 
sphere  is  still  broadening  with  each  passing  year;  to  those 
of  requisite  ability  and  equipment  the  modern  organ 
offers  a  scope  of  usefulness  equal  to  that  of  other  solo 
instruments  and  in  keeping  with  its  inducements  as  a 
solo  instrument  by  its  own  right. 


Stops  and  Couplers  Operated  by  Tilting  Tablets. 
(Wirsching  Organ  Co.,  Salem,  O.) 


CHAPTER   IX 

The  Crescendo  Pedal 

The  Crescendo  Pedal  is  perhaps  the  least  understood 
and  worst  manipulated  accessory  of  the  modern  organ. 
It  is  constantly  used  in  places  and  ways  in  which  it  should 
not  be.  The  result  is  that  strong  prejudice  has  sprung 
up  in  certain  quarters  against  the  crescendo  pedal,  per  se, 
whereas  the  criticism  should  be  directed  toward  the 
abuse  of  the  pedal  and  not  hurled  at  the  innocent 
accessory  itself. 

As  an  extreme  example  of  prejudice  developed  to  the 
point  of  a  fetish  may  be  instanced  the  attitude  of  a 
famous  English  organist  who  requires  the  crescendo 
pedal  on  all  organs  on  which  he  perforins  to  be  locked 
firmly,  so  that  by  no  possibility  can  the  pedal  be  brought 
into  use. 

It  is  an  open  question  whether  or  not  the  name 
Crescendo  Pedal — in  so  far  as  it  applies  to  the  majority 
of  organs — is  not  a  misnomer;  in  connection  with  an 
organ  of  few  stops  it  is  really  a  farce,  because  in  all  small 
organs  the  breaks  caused  by  the  wide  difference  of  scale 
and  power  of  some  of  the  stops  render  anything  like  a 
smooth  crescendo  impossible.  Moreover  the  order  of 
arrangement  of  the  stops  adopted  by  some  builders  is 
quite  inartistic.  On  large  organs  it  is  possible  to  plan  a 
fairly  smooth  crescendo  of  stops,  and  in  such  cases  the 
name  is  more  justifiable. 

Sub-  and  super-couplers  should  rarely  if  ever  be  in- 
cluded in  the  range  of  the  crescendo  pedal,  and  it  is  an 
open  question  whether  the  same  may  not  be  said  of  the 
heavy  reed  stops,  ?'.  c. — solo  reeds.     String  stops  also, 


66  .4    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

indeed  all  stops  of  highly  individual  quality,  should  also 
come  on  very  near  to  the  end  of  the  crescendo  rather 
than  at  the  beginning.  Where  the  pedal  is  made  adjust- 
able, as  is  sometimes  the  case,  the  organist  will  be  in  a 
position  to  work  out  by  experimentation  the  most  perfect 
crescendo  possible. 

But  as  a  rule  the  organist  must  concern  himself  with 
making  the  best  use  of  the  accessory  as  he  finds  it  pro- 
vided for  him.  So  let  us  inquire  into  the  best  usage  of 
the  device. 

First:  Regard  the  crescendo  pedal  more  as  a  means  of 
producing  "graduated  accents"  than  as  a  purely  cre- 
scendo builder.  The  occasional  sforzando  or  accent  is  of 
the  greatest  value  in  correcting  the  tendency  of  organ 
music  to  be  devoid  of  vitality.  A  sforzando  may,  of 
course,  be  of  any  degree  of  power  greater  than  the  volume 
which  has  been  in  use  prior  to  its  advent;  it  need  not  be 
of  ff  strength — far  from  it !  The  average  of  power  in  use 
during  a  certain  section  of  a  composition  may  have  been 
not  greater  than  mp,  but  a  sforzando  will  be  produced— 
just  as  truly  as  if  it  were  on  a  larger  dynamic  scale — if 
there  is  added  for  an  accent  touch  merely  an  mf  degree 
of  power.  Or  to  put  it  another  way:  the  addition  of  a 
single  stop  will  produce  a  degree  of  sforzando  for  a  soft 
combination  just  as  truly  as  will  the  addition  of  three  or 
four  reeds  to  a  Jf  full  Diapason  organ.  It  is  truly  remark- 
able how  much  our  best  players  are  using  the  crescendo 
pedal  for  this  sforzando  work,  and  it  is  probably  in  just 
this  field  that  its  greatest  usefulness  lies. 

Moreover  the  crescendo  pedal  is,  by  reason  of  the 
facts  stated  above,  of  vastly  greater  value  than  the 
totally  misnamed  sforzando  or — in  reality — full  organ 
pedal;  this  latter  accessory  is  of  no  value  whatever  other 
than  that  it  gives  instantaneous  command  of  the  full 
organ.  With  it  only  one  degree  of  sforzando  is  possible — 
and  that  the  most  powerful;  naturally  this  limits  its  use- 
fulness to  the  moments  when  great  power  is  needed — 


THE    CRESCENDO    PEDAL  67 

and  those  moments  are  rare.  The  crescendo  pedal,  on 
the  contrary,  presents  a  large  number  of  possible  degrees 
of  accent  from  the  softest  to  the  very  loud. 

Second:  A  very  excellent  usage  of  the  crescendo  pedal 
is  in  connection  with  passages  in  sequences,  where — 
with  each  repetition  of  the  sequential  passage  or  phrase 
— an  increase  (or  decrease,  as  that  use  also  is  possible) 
is  given  to  the  volume  of  tone  employed ;  the  addition  of 
tone  will  be  needed  most  often  with  rising  sequences, 
and  the  subtraction  with  falling  ones.  Both  should  be 
done  with  great  moderation,  and  not  too  frequently. 

Third:  Crescendo  by  chords,  that  is,  minute  increases 
of  power  with  each  chord-,  or  with  the  strongly  accented 
chords  of  each  measure,  is  also  possible,  and  often  relieves 
the  monotony  of  passages  made  up  of  chords  of  the  same 
time  value. 

Fourth:  Do  not  use  the  crescendo  pedal  to  obtain  mf, 
f,  and  jj  degrees  of  power  for  any  extended  periods;  the 
lazy  habit  of  doing  this  instead  of  manipulating  stops 
has  been  the  cause  of  much  of  the  criticism  of  the  device. 
It  is  evident  on  a  moment's  thought  that  if  this  is 
resorted  to  there  will  be  produced  a  most  stereotyped 
effect;  the  quality  of  tone  produced  is  invariably  the 
same  at  any  given  point  in  the  progress  of  the  pedal. 
Rather  obtain  the  effects  for  use  for  any  length  of  time 
by  means  of  stops  (pistons  if  necessary)  and  thus  reserve 
the  crescendo  pedal  for  its  most  effective  function,  i.  e. — 
as  a  producer  of  accent  and  sforzando  effects.  There  lies 
in  this  course  at  least  the  chance  that  the  effects  will  be 
varied,  but  if  the  former  procedure  be  followed  even 
that  chance  is  eliminated. 

Analysis  of  these  points  will  reveal  the  fact  that  they 
are  based  on  the  premise  that  the  pedal  is  only  an 
accessory,  and  not  something  to  be  fallen  back  upon 
because  of  lazy  habits.  It  must  not  be  thought  of  as  a 
short  cut  to  registrative  work,  for  such  it  emphatically  is 
not.    It  is  not  a  device  for  eliminating  hand  manipulation 


68  .4    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

of  the  stops.  It  is  first  and  foremost  a  producer  of  graded 
accents,  and  secondly — and  to  a  much  less  important 
degree — a  builder  of  crescendos  and  diminuendos,  and 
it  must  be  regarded  in  this  light  if  it  is  to  be  artistically 
used. 


OLIVER  HOLDEN'S  ORGAN 

(circa  1790) 


CHAPTER  X 

A     Glance  at  Organ  Construction 

In  this  chapter  we  will  endeavor  to  give  you  an  insight 
into  the  mysterious  functioning  of  the  interior  mechanism 
of  the  modern  organ.  From  a  purely  mechanical  stand- 
point the  organ  is  unapproached  by  any  other  musical 
instrument  in  complexity,  variety  of  application  of 
energy  and  number  of  mechanical  motions  employed. 
The  modern  grand  pianoforte,  with  its  beautifully 
perfect  action,  is  not  of  one-twentieth  the  complexity  of 
an  electro-pneumatic  organ,  and  yet — as  Sir  John 
Stainer  truly  states — "The  history  of  the  organ  is  nothing 
more  than  a  narrative  of  the  efforts  of  men  to  bring  under 
the  control  of  one  performer  a  large  number  of  the 
instruments  called  flutes."  How  well  this  effort  has  been 
realized  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the  largest 
orgafi  in  the  world  at  the  present  time  (the  great  organ 
in  the  Wanamaker  Store,  Philadelphia)  contains  17,954 
pipes,  all  readily  controlled  b^  one  player! 

In  marked  contrast  to  this  mammoth  instrument  is 
the  little  organ  of  Oliver  Holden,  the  composer  of  the 
hymn-tune:  Coronation.  Because  of  its  unique  historical 
value  we  include  a  reproduction  of  this  early  organ. 
Holden  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner  by  trade,  but  dropped 
his  tools  to  become  a  teacher  of  music.  This  organ,  of 
which  he  was  extremely  fond,  dates  from  about  the  year 
1790,  and  is  now  in  the  custody  of  the  Bostonian  Society 
in  the  Old  State  House,  Boston. 

The  first  requisite  of  an  organ  is  an  ample  and  steady 
supply  of  wind  with  which  to  blow  the  various  pipes. 
For  many  years  this  has  been  produced  by  a  bellows  and 


70 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


double  feeders,  these  latter  operated  by  either  human 
muscles  or  by  a  water  motor,  steam  or  gas  engine— the 
final  application  of  the  power  being  the  same  in  all  cases. 
As  will  be  seen  in  Fig.  20  the  contrivance  consists  of  a 
horizontal  frame  surmounted  by  a  series  of  flexible  folds, 
quite  similar  to  the  folds  of  a  Concertina — these  latter 
supporting  a  top  board  on  which  are  placed  weights  or 
springs  to  restrain  the  upward  motion  of  the  top  board 
and  thus  confine  the  wind  under  pressure.  Below  the 
horizontal  frame,  generally  called  the  trunk,  are  to  be 
found  the  feeders  which  are  smaller  replicas  of  the  con- 
struction above  the  trunk;  these  feeders  are  moved  up 


FIG.   20.     BELLOWS   AND   FEEDERS 


and  down  by  the  particular  power  source  in  use,  and 
function  in  the  same  manner  as  the  simple  hand  bellows 
used  by  our  ancestors  in  starting  a  wood  fire  in  the  grate. 
With  each  upward  motion  the  air  is  compressed  and 
forced  into  the  trunk  and  reservoir;  during  the  down- 
ward stroke  the  feeders  are  again  filled  with  air  which  is 
again  delivered  to  the  reservoir  above,  this  cycle  being 
repeated  as  long  as  the  organ  is  in  use. 

The  desire  for  a  more  steady  and  unshaken  supply  of 
wind  for  the  organ  led  to  the  introduction  of  the  modern 
Centrifugal,  or  Fan  blower,  and  this  type  of  wind  supply 
has  become  the  generally  accepted  equipment  for  all 
modern  organs.  Several  styles  of  this  machine  are  in 
use  but  the  principle  of  all  is  the  same,  viz:  a  rapidly 


ORGAN    CONSTRUCTION 


71 


revolving  fan,  or  series  of  fans,  the  air  being  taken  in  at 
the  center  of  the  fan  and  delivered  at  the  circumference. 
Fans  of  the  same  type  may  be  seen  in  use  forcing  air  into 
subways,  coal-mines  and  in  the  heating  systems  of  some 
large  buildings;  any  desired  pressure  may  be  obtained, 
and  the  supply  is  of  absolute  evenness.  With  this  type 
of  blower  the  necessity  for  the  feeders  disappears,  only  a 


FIG.   21.     TRACKKR   ACTION 


small  reservoir  being  required  for  the  control  of  the  wind. 
From  the  bellows  or  reservoir  the  wind  is  carried  by 
wind-trunks  to  the  various  chests  upon  which  the  pipes 
of  the  organ  are  planted;  these  chests  are  shallow  boxes 
of  varying  dimensions  containing  valves  and  other 
mechanism  for  governing  the  introduction  of  the  air  to 
the  individual  pipes.  The  early  method  of  controlling 
these  valves  from   the   keyboards   was  by  a  series  of 


72  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

sticks,   levers,   wires,   etc.  —  known   collectively   as  the 
tracker  action. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  enter  into  an  exhaustive  dis- 
cussion of  this  action ;  it  was  for  many  years  the  one  and 
only  action  for  the  organ.  It  has  undoubtedly  served  its 
purpose,  and  served  nobly,  and  we  may  remember  that 
the  action  of  the  organ  of  Bach's  day  was  of  this  type; 
but  it  is — as  far  as  construction  of  new  organs  goes — a 
thing  of  the  past,  and  its  interest  for  us  now  is  mostly 
historical.  In  Fig.  21,  we  show  a  drawing  of  this  action 
as  introduced  in  a  two-manual  organ. 

The  drawing  shows  clearly  the  arrangement  of  the 
different  levers  utilized;  the  dotted  lines  used  in  three 
places  indicate  the  position  of  the  coupler  stickers  when 
the  coupler  is  in  the  off  position.  It  will  also  be  noticed 
that  because  of  limitations  of  space  the  chest  for  the  swell 
organ  is  not  indicated;  this  chest  is  exactly  like  the  one 
illustrated  and  would  be  placed  to  the  right  of  the  great 
chest  in  the  illustration. 

While  on  the  subject  of  the  chests  it  may  be  well  to 
state  that  the  pipes  are  not  arranged,  in  the  best  organs, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  strings  of  a  pianoforte,  viz:  in 
regular  chromatic  order  from  lowest  note  to  highest,  but 
are  usually  placed  alternately  on  either  side  beginning 
at  the  ends  of  the  chest  with  the  largest  pipes.  This 
means  that  the  pipes  slope  upward  from  the  smallest 
pipes — which  are  in  the  middle  of  the  chest — to  the 
largest  which  are  on  the  ends.  The  order  on  one  side  is 
this: 


§^£P* 


m^ 


and  on  the  other  side  this: 


&^ 


Great  Organ  in  Music  Hall,  Boston,  1863. 


ORGAN    CONSTRUCTION  73 

This  fact  is  worth  noting,  as,  if  you  are  ever  compelled  to 
tune  an  organ,  or  are  requested  to  hold  keys  while  a 
tuner  is  at  work,  it  will  be  in  the  above  orders  that  you 
will  be  required  to  do  it;  much  time  would  be  lost  if  an 
attempt  was  made  to  tune  upward  in  straight  chro- 
matic order  as  the  tuner  would  be  obliged  to  move  back 
and  forth  from  side  to  side  with  each  new  note! 

About  fifty  years  ago  the  first  successful  attempts  to 
remedy  the  manifold  defects  of  the  tracker  action  were 
consummated;  the  tracker  action — heavy,  lacking  sensi- 
tiveness and  quick  recovery — had  long  been  a  bar  to  the 
growth  of  the  organ,  limiting  decidedly  the  possible 
number  of  stops  which  could  be  played  by  an  average 
human  being,  and  also  barring  progress  in  tonal  improve- 
ment which  it  had  been  vaguely  foreseen  was  possible 
through  use  of  heavier  wind-pressures. 

It  may  be  noted  that  at  about  this  time  there  was 
built  the  first  thorough  concert  organ  for  this  country : — 
the  great  organ  in  Boston  Music  Hall.  This  instrument 
was  formally  opened  on  November  2,  18G3,  by  a 
notable  group  of  recitalists,  including  B.  J.  Lang,  John 
K.  Paine  and  Eugene  Thayer.  The  organ  contained 
every  known  feature  and  accessory  of  artistic  worth  and 
was,  for  its  time,  a  remarkable  instrument;  but  so  great 
has  been  the  development  of  the  powers  of  the  modern 
organ  as  a  concert  instrument  that  this  marvel  of  the 
sixties  would  be  regarded  as  a  very  limited  vehicle  of 
expression  by  a  present-day  recitalist.  Truly,  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  organ  in  the  last  fifty  years  has  been  a 
process  of  startling  rapidity. 

There  was  then  introduced  the  first  forerunners  of  the 
present  day  tubular-pneumatic  action;  the  principle  of 
this  action  is,  crudely  put,  this:  that  if  pressure  be  ap- 
plied to  the  air  in  a  tube  at  one  end  of  the  tube,  the 
same  pressure — roughly — will  be  available  at  the  other 
end  of  the  tube.  It  is  this  principle  which  permits 
piping  gas  and  water  through  our  streets  to  our  houses. 


74 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


In  the  organ  the  tubes  are  provided,  one  for  each  key, 
manual  and  pedal,  running  from  the  keyboards  to  the 
chests;  they  are  generally  of  small  diameter — the  size  of 
a  thin  lead  pencil — and  made  of  lead  for  easy  bending 
around  corners,  etc.  By  utilizing  a  puff  of  wind  in  these 
tubes  a  valve  in  the  chest  is  opened  and  the  chest  action 
set  in  motion  just  the  same  as  if  a  tracker  were  employed 
— and  with  no  more  exertion  to  the  performer  than  would 
depress  the  keys  of  a  pianoforte. 

The  system  most  generally  adopted  at  the  present  time 
is  known  as  the  exhaust  system,  and  is  satisfactory  when 
used  in  situations  where  the  console  is  not  placed  at  any 


^r 


Wind  Chest 


FIG.  22.    TUBULAR-PNEUMATIC  ACTION 


great  distance  from  the  organ  proper;  this  system  pre- 
sents the  advantage  of  having  the  fewest  moving  parts, 
and  gives  very  little  trouble.    It  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  22. 

The  tube  connecting  the  key  and  the  chest  is  kept  full 
of  wind  from  a  small  bleed-hole  (controlled  by  the  set- 
screw  which  can  be  seen  on  top  of  the  chest)  except  at  the 
times  when  the  key  is  depressed  by  the  performer;  when 
this  is  done  the  wind  in  the  tube  exhausts  (whence  comes 
the  name  of  the  action)  and  the  pneumatic  E  raises, 
carrying  with  it  the  double  valves  F;  the  change  in 
position  of  these  valves  releases  the  air  in  the  chamber 
G,  the  diaphragm  M  being  allowed  to  bulge  into  the 
channel  G  and  thus  permit  the  air  in  the  chest  to  pass 


ORGAN    CON  STRUCT  10  X  75 

from  the  chamber  A  into  the  pipe.  When  the  performer 
releases  the  key  the  cycle  of  actions  is  reversed  and  the 
action  resumes  the  position  shown  in  the  drawing — 
silencing  the  pipe.  In  a  perfectly  designed  and  built 
action  this  cycle  can  take  place  very  rapidly  indeed, 
providing  only  that  the  tubes  be  not  of  too  great  length. 
The  greater  part  of  the  little  regulation  needed  by  this 
action  can  be  secured  by  slightly  turning  the  screw 
governing  the  aperture  of  the  bleed-hole  mentioned 
above;  outside  of  the  chance  that  a  speck  of  dirt  may 
lodge  between  the  valve  and  the  valve-seat  there  is  little 
or  nothing  about  this  action  to  get  out  of  order. 

With  the  introduction  of  electricity  into  the  mechanism 
of  the  organ  began  the  period  of  its  greatest  development 
as  an  instrument  worthy  of  a  great  artist.  The  idea  of 
using  this  force  in  the  action  of  the  organ  originated, 
curiously  enough,  about  the  same  time  as  the  inception 
of  the  pneumatic  action,  but  the  first  electric  action 
organ  in  this  country  was  not  built  until  1878,  when 
Hilbourne  L.  Roosevelt  introduced  it  into  his  organ  in 
Grace  Church,  New  York  City.  Since  then  it  has  under- 
gone a  constant  refining  process,  the  late  Robert  Hope- 
Jones  being  the  principal  figure  in  its  development,  and 
it  is  now  the  only  action  employed  in  instruments  of  any 
calibre  and  is  being  increasingly  employed  in  even  very 
small  organs;  it  is  instantaneous — no  matter  how  far 
the  console  and  organ  may  be  separated — repeats  with 
lightning-like  rapidity,  and  when  well  made  is  quite  as 
reliable  as  the  tubular-pneumatic  action.  Before  many 
years  it  will  probably  be  the  exception  to  find  a  modern 
organ  with  any  other  action. 

In  Fig.  23  will  be  found  a  sectional  view  of  the  main 
elements  of  a  modern  electro-pneumatic  action. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  action  much  resembles  the 
tubular-pneumatic  just  discussed — the  tube  and  key- 
valve  Toeing  missing,  and  in  their  place  a  magnet,  arma- 
ture-valve,   contacts,    battery    and    wire    being   found. 


76 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


Depressing  the  key  closes  the  circuit  at  the  key-contact 
N — just  as  the  act  of  ringing  an  electric  door-bell  is 
accomplished — and  energizes  the  magnet  L;  this  causes 
the  small  metal  armature-valve  H  (a  thin  circular  wafer 
of  metal)  to  be  attracted  to  the  magnet  L,  and  in  rising 
it  uncovers  the  vent  K.  This  vent  being  opened  to  the 
outside  atmosphere  the  wind  from  the  pneumatic  pouch  E 
exhausts  through  the  vent — drawing  upward  the  double- 
valves  F — from  which  point  the  cycle  of  operations  is  the 
same  as  with  the  tubular-pneumatic  action  described 
above.  When  the  key  is  released  the  electric  circuit  is 
broken,  the  magnet  loses  its  power  of  attraction,  the 


^r 


Wind  Chest 


FIG.   23.     ELECTRO-PNEUMATIC   ACTION 


armature-valve  resumes  its  position  over  the  exhaust- 
vent  K,  and  the  action  resumes  the  position  shown  in  the 
drawing. 

In  the  modern  organ  it  should  be  understood  that  the 
current  is  furnished,  not  by  batteries — as  was  the  case  in 
the  early  experiments — but  by  a  small  dynamo,  or  gen- 
erator, which  is  belted  to  the  motor  which  drives  the  fan 
blower  supplying  the  wind  for  the  organ.  The  couplers 
are  also  eliminated  from  the  drawing,  as  their  intro- 
duction would  tend  to  bewilder  the  non-technical  reader; 
they  are,  however,  merely  multiple-contact  switches,  or 
gang-switches  for  the  diverting  of  the  current  from  one 
normal  path,  into  two,  three  or  more  paths — all  originat- 


ORGAN    CONSTRUCTION  77 

ing  from  a  single  starting  point  (one-key  contact),  and 
their  position  is  in  the  circuit  between  the  key  contact 
and  the  magnet. 

Probably  the  greatest  single  convenience  which  has 
been  invented  for  the  comfort  of  the  organist  is  the 
Adjustable  Combination  Action;  with  it  he  is  able  to 
command  any  desired  arrangement  of  stops  at  any 
instant.  All  modern  organs  are  provided  with  Pistons 
located  immediately  below  the  manual,  the  stops  of 
which  they  control;  Pedal  Studs,  having  the  same  func- 
tion and  operated  by  the  feet,  are  also  being  fitted  some- 
what frequently  of  late. 

There  are  two  systems  of  stop  combination  control  in 
use,  known  as  the  Blind  (non-movable)  and  the  Visible 
(movable)  systems;  in  the  former,  which  is  employed  on 
only  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  modern  organs,  the 
stops  do  not  move  in  and  out  in  accordance  with  the 
setting  on  the  pistons;  the  stops  proper  can  be  moved 
only  by  the  hand  of  the  performer  and  the  combination 
action  is  in  reality  a  kind  of  an  appendage  to  the  organ 
instead  of  a  complete,  absolute  system  of  control.  It 
is  not  being  used  in  the  work  of  any  of  the  notable 
builders,  and  will  doubtless  fall  into  disuse  ere  long.  The 
Blind  system  is  generally  found  constructed  with  a  small 
plug-board — like  a  telephone  control-board,  or  with  a 
small  switch-board;  in  either  case  there  is  a  plug-hole  or 
switch  for  every  stop  for  each  piston  on  each  manual,  or 
pedal  organ,  viz:  if  there  are  ten  stops  on  a  manual  and 
five  pistons  controlling  them,  there  will  be  fifty  plug- 
holes or  switches;  by  plugging-in  or  turning  the  switches 
the  stops  which  will  be  added  by  the  pistons  are  selected. 

The  Visible,  or  movable  system,  while  more  expensive 
to  construct  than  the  one  just  described,  presents  so 
many  points  of  superiority  that  it  is  being  used  by  all  the 
best  builders  of  the  country.  In  this  system  the  stop- 
knobs  move  in  and  out  in  accordance  with  the  setting  on 
the  piston,  thus  furnishing  an  absolute  indication  of  the 


78 


A    PRIMER    OF   ORGAN    REGISTRATION 


status  of  the  organ  at  any  instant.  The  method  of 
setting-up  varies — there  being  three  methods  of  control 
commonly  found:  first,  the  setting  being  fixed  by 
drawing  a  stop-knob  numbered  to  correspond  with  the 
number  of  the  particular  piston;  second,  by  pressing  a 
general  setter-piston  and  then  pressing  the  piston  desired 
while  holding  in  the  setter;  third,  a  system  in  which  the 
piston  is  held  in  while  the  stops  are  smartly  rapped  into 
position — on  or  off — by  the  fingers  of  the  performer, 
there  being  a  friction  slide  fitted  to  stops  in  this  case 
which  permits  this  motion  but  still  does  not  allow  them 


Ct7>4B2KATtaN    HO.  A  COMBTNATTVt*   frtLA. 


FIG.  24.    ADJUSTABLE   COMBINATION  STOP-ACTION 


to  slip  when  using  the  piston  in  the  usual  manner.  The 
process  is  the  same  in  each  case  but  the  last;  the  stops 
are  prepared  and  then  the  setting  is  done;  with  the  last 
the  setting  is  done  during  the  preparing  process,  so  to 
speak,  the  two  being  really  simultaneous.  Fig.  24- 
illustrates  the  mechanism  employed  in  this  type  of 
combination  action,  two  pistons  only  being  indicated. 
In  the  drawing  the  stop-knobs  to  be  controlled  are 
indicated  at  A,  A,  A.  To  set  the  combinations  first 
arrange  desired  stops  for  piston  No.  1,  then  draw  the 
Lock-Knob  No.  1;  this  knob  is  connected  by  rods  and 
a  bell-crank  to  the  bar  C,  which  throws  the  trip-shoes,  D, 


ORGAN    CONSTRUCTION  79 

into  on  or  of  position.  The  one  movement  tilts  down 
the  trippers  on  the  on  stops,  and  tilts  up  those  on  the  off 
position;  these  trip-shoes  are  constructed  to  move  with 
a  certain  amount  of  stiffness. 

This  preparation  being  made  and  the  lock-knob 
pushed  in  again,  the  act  of  pressing  the  piston  No.  1, 
will  cause  a  pneumatic  motor  to  be  inflated  which  will 
raise  the  rod  E;  this  rod  connects  with  the  two  fans,  F, 
and  G;  these  two  fans  move  toward  each  other,  the 
one  pushing  out  all  stops  set  to  be  out,  the  other  pushing 
in  all  stops  not  so  set. 

This  same  mechanism  is  duplicated  for  each  piston 
provided  for  the  particular  section  of  the  organ,  and 
the  action  in  the  case  of  every  one  of  them  is  the  same. 
As  there  is  no  interference  between  this  action  and  the 
playing  part  of  the  organ,  it  is  perfectly  possible  to  change 
the  setting  of  combinations  at  any  time,  even  during 
the  actual  performance  of  a  composition. 

One  of  the  biggest  factors  in  developing  the  organ  into 
a  highly  expressive  musical  instrument  has  been  the 
development  of  perfect  Swell-Boxes,  and  the  inclusion  of 
from  one  to  six  of  them  in  the  instrument;  from  two  to 
three  are  commonly  found  of  late.  By  this  means  an 
unparalleled  flexibility  is  secured,  and  the  organ  is  no 
longer  limited  to  music  of  a  strictly  contrapuntal  nature. 

In  Figures  25  and  26,  we  illustrate  the  working 
principle  of  the  Swell-Box,  looking  at  the  box  from 
the  top. 

Swell-Boxes  very  often  are  veritable  rooms,  as  now 
constructed,  with  wide  passageways  to  all  parts  of  the 
box;  in  this  respect  they  are  a  far  cry  from  the  small, 
cramped  boxes  of  early  days — in  some  of  which  only  a 
small  boy  could  enter !  They  are  all  alike  in  one  respect, 
however;  the  front  consists  of  a  series  of  shutters  swing- 
ing on  pivots  (similar  to  the  familiar  Venetian  blind) 
and  controlled  by  the  action  of  the  expression  lever,  or 
swell  pedal.     In  the  modern  organ  electricity  is  again 


80 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


relieving  the  player  of  much  of  the  labor  of  playing  by 
interposing  a  "swell  engine"  between  the  swell  pedal, 
and  the  shutters;  when  this  is  done  the  most  delightful 


FIG.   25.     CLOSED   SWELL-BOX 


Ti 


Al 


FIG.   26.     PARTLY  OPEN   SWELL-BOX 


effects   (slow  or  quick  swells,   accents,  sforzandos)   are 
possible. 

A  few  words  also  on  the  subject  of  organ  pipes  may 
be  of  value  to  the  student.  All  commonly  found 
organ  pipes  are  developments  of  the  primitive  flute  in- 
struments, or  of  those  with  a  reed — of  which  the  modern 
clarinet  is  an  example.  The  materials  commonly  em- 
ployed are  wood,  tin  and  lead  mixtures,  and  zinc;  a  few 


ORGAN   CONSTRUCTION 


81 


others,  as  for  instance  sheet  steel,  are  oc- 
casionally met  with.  The  scale — i.  e.,  the 
relative  diameter  to  the  length — varies  tre- 
mendously; an  8  ft.  Open  Diapason  pipe  may 
be  as  much  as  6  inches  in  diameter  at  the 
lowest  note,  while  a  Viol  D'Orchestre  pipe  of 
the  same  note  might  be  only  about  1% 
inches  in  diameter.  The  wind  pressures  em- 
ployed also  vary  wonderfully;  four  to  six 
inches  pressure  is  generally  found  nowadays, 
but  for  solo  organ  purposes  the  pressures 
run  up  to  fifteen,  twenty,  thirty,  and  in 
rare  cases  as  high  as  fifty  inches.  Great 
refinement  of  tone  as  well  as  terrific  power 
may  be  secured  at  will  from  these  increased 
pressures;  the  skill  of  the  voicer  is  the  deter- 
minating factor  as  to  which  it  shall  be.  In 
Fig.  27,  we  illustrate  a  type  of  flute  formerly 
much  used  as  the  heavy  8  ft.  flute  for  the 
Great  organ,  viz:  the  Doppel  Flute;  this  type 
of  stop  is  interesting  in  that  it  possesses 
two  mouths  to  the  pipe  instead  of  the  usual 
single  mouth. 

Of  great  value  to  the  development  of  variety  in  organ 
tone  has  been  the  introduction  of  the  small  scale  Viols 
which  act  as  the  organ  counterparts  of  the  stringed 


FIG.  27. 

SECTION 

OF  DOPPEL 

FLOETE 


FIG.   28.     SECTION  OF  SMALL  SCALE   VIOL 

instruments  of  the  orchestra.  They  are  slender  pipes, 
made  of  fine  tin,  and  their  voicing  is  a  test  of  the  skill- 
fulness  and  patience  of  any  voicer. 


82  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

The  improvement  in  reed  voicing  has  been  largely 
one  of  perfection  of  design,  more  accurate  manufacture 
of  reed  pipes,  and  the  wonderful  advantage  given  by 
higher  wind  pressures  than  were  possible  before  the  days 
of  modern  actions ;  practically  all  of  the  orchestral  instru- 
ments are  imitated  with  incredible  faithfulness  by  some 
of  our  best  builders,  the  French  Horn,  English  Horn  and 
Clarinet  stops  being  especially  successful.  So  much  has 
been  accomplished  that  it  seems  possible  that  future 
developments  may  have  to  be  along  the  lines  of  varied 
applications  of  percussion  effects;  certain  it  is  that  the 
instrument  now  more  than  merits  the  words  of  Honore 
de  Balzac  when  he  says :  "The  organ  is  in  truth  the  grand- 
est, the  most  daring,  the  most  magnificent  of  all 
instruments  invented  by  human  genius." 


Pneumatic  Coupler-stack  Showing  Valves  and  Tubing  by  which 
Coupling   is   Accomplished   in   Tubular   Action. 

(Wirsching  Organ  Co.,  Salem,  0.) 


CHAPTER  XI 

Dictionary  of  Organ  Stops  * 

Aeoline— 8  ft.,  rarely  16  ft.,  4  ft. 

Usually  the  softest  stop  in  the  organ  and  of  a  slightly  stringy  character  of 
tone;  usually  in  the  Swell  organ.  (Aeolian,  Harp  Aeolian,  Vox  Angelica) 
=  Dolce,  Dulciana,  Echo  Salicional,  Muted  Viol. 

Acoustic  Bass — see  Resultant  Bass. 

Bass  Flute— 8  ft. 

The  name  frequently  given  to  the  octave  stop  of  the  16  ft.  Bourdon  although 
occasionally  (and  erroneously)  used  for  the  octave  of  the  16  ft.  Open  Dia- 
pason; almost  invariably  a  Pedal  organ  stop.  (Flauto  Dolce,  Flute, 
Gedeckt,  Gross  Flute)  =  Violoncello,  or  couple  a  manual  Flute  stop  to  the 
pedals. 

Bassoon— 8  ft.,  16  ft. 

In  American  organs  this  stop  appears  most  often  as  the  bass  octave  of 
the  Oboe  stop — and  in  reality  is  very  often  not  at  all  a  true  specimen  of 
Bassoon  stop  proper;  the  16  ft.  form  appears  in  large  organs  as  a  Contra 
Fagotta — and  is  usually  available  on  both  the  Pedals  and  on  one  (or  occa- 
sionally two)  manual  section — being  made  thus  available  by  borrowing  or 
duplexing.  The  tone  is  somewhat  on  the  common  Oboe  type  but  more 
hollow  and  with  a  slight  raspiness;  it  is  a  most  useful  stop  when  well  made. 
(Bassoon,  Fagotto,  Double  Trumpet)  =  Posaune,  Violone,  Contra  Viol, 
Double  Dulciana,  or  sub-couple  a  reed  of  Oboe  type. 

Bombarde— 32  ft.,  16  ft.,  very  rarely  8  ft. 

A  very  powerful  reed  stop  of  majestic  effect;  tone  of  Trombone  quality. 
Found  in  most  cases  in  the  Pedal  organ,  where  its  sonority  causes  it  to  excel 
in  nobility  the  Double  Open  Diapason  of  32  ft.  pitch.  (Bombardon,  Bom- 
bardone,  Contra  Trombone)  =  Contra  Trombone,  Contra  Tuba,  Tuba  Pro- 
funda, Ophicleide,  or  full  pedal  organ. 

Bourdon — see  Gedeckt. 

Carillons— 8  ft.,  4  ft. 

Term  denoting  a  set  of  tubular  or  flat  bars  of  metal — graduated  as  to  size 
and  tuned  to  the  notes  of  the  scale;  equipped  with  tuned  resonators  and 
struck  by  a  hammer-action  similar  to  that  of  the  Piano-forte.  The  stop, 
in  one  of  its  various  forms,  is  becoming  quite  a  usual  part  of  the  equipment 
of  large  organs;  it  is  frequently  called  the  Harp  stop — to  which  instrument 

♦The  names  following  the  sign  =  denote  stops  or  combinations  of  stops 
which  may  be  used  as  substitutes  should  the  desired  stop  be  unavailable. 


84  A    PRIMER    OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

it  has  in  many  cases  not  a  little  resemblance.  The  term  is  sometimes  used 
to  indicate  a  set  of  tubular  Chimes — to  which  use  it  should  not  be  put;  the 
imitative  tubular  Chimes  should  invariably  be  designated  by  a  name  which 
will  clearly  indicate  that  the  stop  is  of  the  imitative  bell  type;  for  stops  of 
the  plate-and-resonator  type  the  terms  Carillon  or  Celesta,  or  the  more  easily 
and  generally  understood  Harp,  are  adequate.  (Glockenspiel,  Carillon, 
Tubular  Bells)  =  a  Gross  Flute  played  staccato  will  sometimes  simulate  a 
Carillon  effect,  as  will  the  combination  of  a  16  ft.  Bourbon  and  a  soft  2  ft. 
stop  with  tremulant  and  swell-shades  closed. 

Celeste 

Denotes  a  stop  of  two  ranks — one  of  which  may  or  may  not  be  available 
as  a  single  stop  for  general  use;  the  extra  rank  is  termed  the  Celeste  rank  and 
is  to  be  invariably  used  with  the  similar  stop  provided  in  the  specification. 
The  Celeste  stop  is  tuned  slightly  sharp  or  flat  to  the  pitch  of  the  relative 
stop,  thus  producing  when  the  two  are  used  together  a  delightful  wave-like 
or  vibrato  effect  of  considerable  value  in  lending  warmth  to  the  tonal  effect. 
The  most  common  form  is  the  Vox  Celeste,  or  String  Celeste — in  which  stop 
the  simulation  of  the  wrist-vibrato  of  string  instrument  players  is  most 
marked;  of  late  Flute  Celeste  stops  have  been  introduced,  sometimes  under 
the  name  Unda  Maris,  and  these  stops  also  are  of  very  great  usefulness. 
It  may  be  remarked  that  where  these  stops  are  provided  the  player  need  not 
employ  the  tremolo  to  anything  like  the  extent  necessary  when  such  is  not 
the  case,  as  the  stops  in  themselves  provide  the  vibrato  formerly  the  exclu- 
sive production  of  the  tremolo.  =  Where  Celestes  are  not  available  the  Tremolo 
is  the  one  and  only  possible  means  of  assistance. 

Cello — see  Violoncello. 

Clarabella— S  ft.,  rarely  4  ft.,  16  ft. 

A  bright-toned  flute  which  of  late  has  been  largely  supplanted  by  the 
less  attractive  Melodia;  the  tone  is  purer  and  more  liquid  than  the  latter 
stop.  It  is  an  accompanying  stop  par  excellence  and  is  usually  scaled  and 
voiced  with  that  purpose  in  view.  (Melodia,  Concert  Flute,  Claribel  Flute) 
=  Use  a  Gedeckt  or  a  soft  flute  or  Dulciana  as  a  substitute. 

Chimes — pitch  indefinite. 

Tubular  bells  struck  by  a  hammer-action  similar  to  that  of  the  piano- 
forte and  connected  with  one  or  more  of  the  keyboards;  they  should  be  as 
remote  from  the  main  organ  and  the  listeners  as  can  be  arranged,  and  in 
playing  them  it  is  well  to  keep  the  swell-shades  almost  entirely  closed — else 
the  effect  will  resemble  fire-gongs  more  than  the  desired  church  chimes! 
No  really  effective  substitute  is  possible;  where  a  Celesta  is  available  it  is 
sometimes  possible  to  produce  a  passable  imitation  by  playing  staccato  on 
the  combination  of  Celesta  and  Gross  Flute — if  the  latter  is  not  too  loud. 
But  as  a  general  thing  it  is  better  not  to  attempt  any  literal  imitations. 

Clarinet — 8  ft.,  occasionally  16  ft. 

The  modern  Clarinet  stop  is  perhaps  the  very  closest  imitation  of  the 
orchestral  prototype  which  the  modern  organ  affords;  sweet  and  clear  in 
tone  and  with  a  peculiar  hollow  warmth  in  the  lower  or  chalmeau  register,  it 
combines  well  with  other  stops  (much  better  than  the  common  Oboe)  and 
its  voice  in  solo  passages  does  not  cloy  as  quickly  as  the  latter  stop.  (Corno 
di  Bassetto,  Corno  di  Caccia,  Cremona,  Krummhorn,  Orchestral  Clarinet) 
=  Oboc,  Salicional  and  4  ft.  Flute,  soft  Gamba. 


DICTIONARY    OF    ORGAN    STOPS  85 

Clarion — 4  ft. 

An  octave  reed  stop  usually  of  considerable  brilliancy;  generally  the  octave 
stop  of  the  Great  or  Solo  Tuba  or  Trumpet  stops.  (Clarione,  Harmonic 
Clarion,  Tuba  Clarion,  Trumpet  Clarion)  =  Use  a  super  coupler  or  couplers 
where  absolutely  necessary. 

Concert  Flute— 8  ft.,  4  ft. 

Until  recent  years  this  was  most  often  a  4  ft.  stop  of  somewhat  imitative 
voicing,  its  prototype  being  the  orchestral  flute;  recently  the  name  has  been 
also  utilized  for  a  stop  of  quiet,  un-orchestral  flute  tone — not  unlike  the 
Melodia  but  rather  softer  and  somewhat  more  pure  in  quality.  (Orchestral 
Flute,  Concert  Flute,  Konzertfloete)  =  Melodia,  Clarabella,  Flauto  Dolce, 
Flute  d'Amour  or  a  soft  Gedeckt  stop  if  no  open  flute  is  available. 

Contra — (Latin  prefix) 

Term  denoting  stops  of  sub-octave  pitch — double  stops,  as  Contra  Bourdon, 
i.e.,— of  pitch  an  octave  below  the  normal  Bourdon.  Applied  to  many 
classes  of  stops. 

Contra  Bass — 16  ft. 

Should  be  invariably  reserved  for  the  Violone  or  similar  stops,  but  is  wrongly 
used  occasionally  for  the  pedal  16  ft.  Open  Diapason.  Should  be  imita- 
tive of  the  Double-Bass  of  the  Orchestra.  (Violon  Bass,  Contre- Basse) 
=  Bourdon,  Dulciana,  Gedeckt,  Gamba. 

Cor  Anglais — 8  ft.,  rarely  16  ft. 

Imitative  of  the  English  Horn  of  the  orchestra;  purely  a  solo  stop,  and 
does  not  combine  at  all  well,  and  moreover — it  has  an  unhappy  faculty  for 
getting  out  of  tune  very  rapidly.  (English  Horn,  Corno  Inglese)  =  Gamba 
(soft)  and  Flute  d'Amour,  Clarinet  and  4  ft.  Gemshorn. 

( iornet — see  Mixture. 

Cornopean — 8  ft. 

Generally  the  most  powerful  stop  of  the  Swell  organ;  a  reed  of  rather 
more  round  and  full  tone  than  that  of  the  Trumpet.  A  fine  solo  stop  when 
w  11  voiced;  with  the  swell  shades  closed  it  gives  a  fine  imitation  of  the 
naritone  Horn  of  the  brass  band  and  in  chords  a  suggestion  of  Trombone 
quality.  (Horn,  Posaune,  Tuba)  =  Combinations  of  Diapasons,  Flutes  and 
Oboe  will  suggest  the  Cornopean  quality. 

Coupler 

A  mechanical  aid  for  combining  at  various  pitches  the  different  depart- 
ments of  the  organ.     See  Chapter  on  Couplers  and  their  use. 

Diapason— 3-2  ft.,  16  ft.,  8  ft.,  4  ft.,  Z  ft.,  and  Mixture  work. 

The  Diapason  family — the  backbone  of  the  organ — are  unique  in  that  they 
produce  a  quality  of  tone  having  no  prototype  among  orchestral  or  other 
instruments;  the  tone  may  therefore  be  considered  as  one  of  the  (if  indeed 
not  the)  most  characteristic  attributes  of  the  organ,  and  in  truth  it  is  this 
quality  of  tone  which — more  than  any  other — distinguishes  the  organ  from 
all  other  instruments.  The  nearest  resemblance  is  to  that  of  softly  played 
Trombones  in  the  middle  register  of  8  ft.  stops;  above  and  below  that  there 


8(5 


A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 


(D  (D 


B 


U 

<$  (D 


D 


FIG.    29.     a,  Clarabella;  b,  Clarinet;  c,  Diapason;  d,  Gedeckt; 

e,  Gemshorn. 


DICTIONARY   OF    ORGAN    STOPS  87 

is  absolutely  no  other  tone  to  which  it  can  be  likened.  Despite  this  extreme 
distinctiveness  the  character  of  Diapason  tone  varies  considerably,  and  so 
we  find  it  appearing  in  many  forms  which  partake  somewhat  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  other  tone-families,  i.e. — the  Geigen-Principal —  with  a  trace 
of  the  String,  the  Leathered-Lip  Diapason  —  with  something  of  a  fluty 
nature,  etc.  The  old  Bell  Diapason,  in  which  the  pipes  were  surmounted 
by  a  conical  bell  is  now  obsolete,  due  largely  to  the  over-crowded  condition 
of  present-day  organ  chambers.  The  Diapason  Phonon,  invented  by  the 
late  Robert  Hope-Jones,  is  a  leathered-lip  variety  speaking  on  heavy  wind- 
pressure,  and  producing  a  tone  of  much  combinational  as  well  as  individual 
worth.  (Principal,  Montre,  Flute  de  Huit)  =  No  substitutes  are  possible, 
and  indeed  none  will  be  needed — except  that  perhaps  in  the  very  smallest 
organs  (we  are  tempted  to  say  "toy"  organs!)  it  may  be  necessary  to  use 
combinations  of  other  stops  to  supply  a  substitute  for  a  missing  Diapason 
on  one  or  more  manuals.  In  Pedal  organs  where — through  lack  of  sufficient 
funds — the  Open  Diapason  of  16  ft.  has  been  omitted  it  is  necessary  to  utilize 
the  usually  present  stops  of  Bourdon  type — although  with  an  entire  loss  of 
that  grandeur  and  majestic  dignity  so  characteristic  of  the  organ  at  its  best. 

Diaphone— 32  ft.,  16  ft.,  8  ft. 

Stops  developed  by  the  late  Robert  Hope-Jones.  The  principle  used  is  that 
of  a  vibrating  diaphragm  or  tremulant— the  frequency  of  which  is  governed 
by  the  length  of  the  resonator  with  which  it  is  employed,  while  the  power 
is  limited  only  by  the  available  wind  pressure,  a  corresponding  increase  of 
power  following  the  raising  of  the  pressure.  Various  qualities  of  tone  may 
be  produced,  although  at  present  the  only  forms  in  use  partake  of  the  nature 
of  the  Diapason  or  Tuba  families;  in  some  of  these  latter  forms  the  power 
is  almost  unbearable.  The  Diaphone  presents  interesting  features  but 
cannot  be  said  to  be  a  fully  developed  proposition  as  yet.  It  is  unlikely  that 
any  specific  call  for  the  stops  will  be  found  indicated  in  printed  music. 

Dolce — 8  ft.     Sometimes  16  ft.,  4  ft.     See  Dulciana. 

Dolcissimo — 8  ft.,  16  ft.     See  Dulciana. 

Doppel  Floete— 8  ft.     Rarely  16  ft.,  4  ft 

A  flute  provided  with  two  mouths;  tone  thick,  rather  colorless.  For- 
merly considered  the  best  flute  for  the  Great  organ,  but  happily  now  being 
much  less  utilized;  as  a  solo  stop  it  is  worthless.  It  is  being  supplanted  by 
stops  of  the  Gross  Flute  type.  (Doppel  Gedackt)  =  Gross  Flute,  Clarabella. 
Gross  Gedackt,  Melodia,  or  a  soft  Diapason — if  of  smooth  tone. 

Double  Diapason— 32  ft.,  16  ft. 

Sub-octave  stops  of  the  Diapason  family — which  see.  =  Double  Gedeckt 
or  Bourdon,  Contra  Dulciana,  or  perhaps  a  sub-octave  coupler. 

Dulciana— 8  ft.,  also  16  ft.,  4  ft. 

Soft,  sweet-toned  stops,  somewhat  of  the  Diapason  quality  of  tone  but 
voiced  with  a  slightly  homy  timbre;  of  piime  worth  as  accompanying  stops. 
Found  most  often  as  the  softest  stop  of  the  Great  or  Choir  organs.  (Echo 
Dulciana,  Dolce,  Dolcissimo,  Dulcet)  =  Aeoline,  Vox  Angelica,  Echo  Sali- 
cional,  Muted  Viol,  Melodia. 

Contra  Fagotta — 16  ft.     See  Bassoon. 


88  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

Fern  Flute — 4  ft.,  rarely  8  ft. 

Generally  a  very  soft  flute  of  somewhat  imitative  tone;  the  name  is  loosely 
employed,  however,  in  this  country.  =  Use  any  available  soft  flute  as  sub- 
stitute. 

Fifteenth— 2  ft. 

Of  Diapason  tone  at  super-octave  pitch,  adds  brilliancy  and  pitch-defi- 
nition to  the  normal  and  octave  pitch  Diapasons.  See  Diapason.  (Super 
Octave)  =  Piccolo,  Flageolet,  Flautina,  or  a  super-octave  coupler. 

Flageolet— 2  ft. 

Softer  and  of  more  fluty  tone  than  the  Fifteenth,  which  see. 

Flauto  Amabile— 8  ft.,  4  ft. 

Similar  to  the  Concert  Flute,  which  see. 

Flauto  Traverso— 4  ft.     Rarely  8  ft.,  2  ft. 

Should  be  the  nearest  imitation  possible  of  the  orchestral  Flute,  and  in 
some  examples  a  close  resemblance  is  attained.  But  in  all  too  many  cases 
it  is  nothing  but  a  soft  sweet-toned  flute  of  no  particular  distinction.  See 
Flute. 

Flauto  Harmonique — See  Harmonic  Flute. 

Flute— 32  ft.,  16  ft.,  8  ft.,  4  ft.,  2  ft.      (Rarely  Mutation.) 

A  generic  term — covering  a  great  variety  of  tone;  runs  the  gamut  from 
common  organ  tone  (such  as  Melodia),  used  primarily  for  accompanying 
work,  to  imitative  stops  of  much  beauty.  The  term  may  even  be  regarded 
for  practical  purposes,  as  covering  the  Gedeckt  stops.  Roughly  classified 
Flute  stops  fall  into  two  divisions: 

1st.  Solo  Flutes,  mostly  at  4  ft.,  but  also  occasionally  at  8  ft.      Such  are  the 
Flute    Harmonique,    Flute   d'Orchestre,    Flute   d'Amour,    Traverse 
Flute,  Gross  Flute,  etc. 
2d.    Accompanimental  Flutes,  and  Flutes  intended  for  Pedal  organ  and 
combinational    use    primarily.     Such    include    Melodia,     Clarabella, 
Concert  Flute  (as  often  voiced),  Gedeckts,  Bourdons,  etc. 
These  stops  are,  of  course,  freely  interchangeable  among  members  of  their 
own  class,  but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  use  as  a  substitute  for  a  quiet  ac- 
companimental stop  a  flute  of  pronounced  solo  attributes. 

French  Horn — 8  ft. 

The  most  successful  type  of  this  stop  is  that  invented  by  Mr.  Ernest  M. 
Skinner,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  the  stop  is  found  on  few  organs  other  than 
his;  a  triumph  of  fidelity  to  its  orchestral  model.  =  A  soft  Gross  Flute,  or 
leathered-lip  Diapason  may  be  substituted;  the  Swell  Open  Diapason  alone, 
with  closed  Swell-shades  is  often  a  fairly  good  effect. 

Gamba— 16  ft.,  8  ft.,  4  ft.  (rarely.) 

The  original  string  stops  of  the  organ,  the  Gambas  were  of  a  hard,  horny 
and  rather  raspy  tone — even  strident  in  some  examples;  from  them  have  been 
developed  the  modern  String  stops  which  can  truly  be  said  to  represent  one 
of  the  great  advancements  of  modern  organ  building.  However,  a  modern 
softly  voiced  Gamba  is  a  valuable  stop  for  the  Great  organ,  producing  a 


DICTIONARY'    OF    ORGAN    STOPS  89 

soft  'cello-like  tone  of  considerable  warmth.  (Viola  da  Gamba,  Gambette, 
Bell  Gamba,  Contra  Gamba)  =  When  not  present  use  a  modern  Viol,  Salicional 
or  a  soft  Oboe  or  Clarinet  if  on  a  manual  where  the  Strings  cannot  be 
utilized 

Gedeckt— 32  ft.,  16  ft.,  8  ft.,  4  ft. 

Stops  of  a  dull,  unimitative  flute  tone,  cloying  and  wearisome  if  used  alone 
for  any  length  of  time;  these  stops  are  also  called  Stopped  Diapason — mis- 
leadingly,  however,  as  they  are  in  no  sense  of  the  Diapason  family.  This 
faulty  terminology  is,  fortunately,  being  less  employed  of  recent  years 
(Bourdon,  Stopped  Diapason,  Tibia)  =  Flutes  are  the  natural  substitutes, 
or  a  soft  Dulciana  type  of  stop  if  needed  for  accompanying  purposes. 

Geigen-Principal — 8  ft.,  4  ft. 

A  variety  of  Diapason  voiced  with  a  bite  to  the  tone  which  in  some  ex- 
amples is  positively  6ery;  partakes  of  the  characteristics  of  both  Diapason 
and  Gamba.  (Violin  Diapason)  =  Some  such  combination  as  Salicional  and 
Diapason,  or  Gamba  and  Gedeckt. 

Gemshorn — 4  ft.,  occasionally  8  ft. 

Tone  soft  and  sweet  and  rather  reedy  in  timbre,  something  half-way  be- 
tween string  and  flute  tone;  pipes  are  conical  in  shape.  =  Use  a  soft  flute  or 
very  soft  Diapason  or  Dulciana. 

Glockenspiel — See  Carillons. 

Gross  Flute  (Grosse  Floete)— 8  ft,  10  ft. 

A  full-toned  flute  of  large-scale  Clarabella  pipes,  much  used  in  Great  and 
Solo  organs,  and  of  much  value  both  as  a  solo  stop  and  for  combinational 
purposes;  it  has  really  remarkable  "filling"  properties  and  supports  heavy 
reeds  most  admirably.  (Grossfloete,  Grosshohlfloete,  Gross  Gedackt)  = 
Any  flute  of  full  tone,  or  where  necessary — Clarabella  or  Melodia. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  polyglot  stop  name  has  been  so  generally 
adopted  throughout  the  country;  either  the  original  German  form  given  in 
parentheses  should  be  used,  or  much  better  and  clearer  would  be  the  literal 
English  translation  Great  Flute — a  very  happy  terminology  in  view  of  the 
almost  universal  custom  of  placing  the  stop  in  the  Great  Organ.  Bi-lingual 
stop-names  are  much  too  prevalent  with  us  and  should  be  suppressed  as 
rapidly  as  possible  by  those  who  have  to  do  with  writing  organ  specifications. 

Ilarmonia  Aetheria — 8  ft.,  or  Mutation. 

In  two  forms,  1st.  Similar  to  the  Aeoline.  2d.  As  a  soft  Mixture  stop. 
Sec  Mixture. 

Harmonic  Flute — 4  ft.,  rarely  8  ft. 

Flutes  of  rather  strong  intonation;  the  pipes  (in  at  least  a  portion  of  the 
compass)  are  of  double  length,  pierced  with  a  hole  near  the  middle  of  the 
pipe,  and  over-blown.  The  most  usual  form  of  flute  for  the  Swell  organ; 
the  Flauto  Traverso  is  often  made  in  this  way.  (Flauto  Harmonique. 
Flauto  Armonica,  Flute  Octaviante)  =  Fernflute,  Flute  d' Amour,  Chimney 
Flute,  or  other  flute. 

Harp— 8  ft. 

Generally  a  modified  form  of  Carillon — which  see. 


90  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

Hautboy — See  Oboe. 

Hohl  Flute — 8  ft.,  occasionally  16  ft.,  4  ft. 

A  flute  of  rather  hollow  though  smooth  tone,  not  being  used  as  much  of 
recent  years  as  formerly;  the  stop  was  made  in  many  different  forms. 
(Hohlfloete,  Rohrfloete,  Waldfloete)  =  Gross  Flute,  Doppel  Floete,  (Ara- 
bella, or  other  flute. 

Horn— 8  ft. 

Practically  the  same  as  the  Cornopean,  which  see. 

Horn  Diapason — 8  ft. 

A  species  of  hard-toned  Diapason,  not  unlike  the  Geigen  Principal,  but 
less  pleasing  than  that  stop;  the  tone  becomes  very  wearisome  after  a  brief 
time.     See  Diapason. 

Keraulophon — 8  ft. 

A  peculiar,  almost  indescribable  tone  characterizes  this  stop;  soft,  a  little 
muffled,  even  a  bit  like  the  tone  of  muted  Horns  in  the  orchestra.  It  is  a 
great  pity  that  this  stop  is  not  more  often  used  than  is  at  present  the 
case.  =  Dulciana,  Spitzfloete,  Salicional. 

Lieblich — German  prefix  meaning  lovely,  applied  to  various  stops. 

Major  Bass— 32  ft.,  16  ft. 

Denoting  the  Pedal  Open  Diapason,  which  see. 

Melodia— 8  ft.,-  rarely  16  ft.,  4  ft. 

Much  employed  as  the  soft  Flute  for  the  Great  or  Choir  organs;  akin  to 
the  Clarabella,  but  not  so  colorful  as  that  stop,  and — in  many  examples — 
inclined  to  be  rather  "breathy"  in  speech.  =  Any  soft  flute  may  substitute. 

Mixture 

Harmonic-corroborating,  or  mixture  stops  are  composed  of  from  two  to 
six  ranks  of  pipes — these  pipes  speaking,  in  part,  other  notes  than  the  unison 
or  octave  pitches  of  the  notes  played;  the  notes  are  those  which  compose 
the  harmonic-series  of  tones — which  taken  together  determine  the  timbre  of 
the  tones.  It  was  early  discovered  that  Diapasons  in  themselves  were 
deficient  in  brilliancy  and  that  any  effort  to  force  these  higher  partials  by 
increasing  wind-pressure  or  treatment  in  voicing  only  resulted  in  giving  the 
pipes  a  hard  and  unpleasant  tone;  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  resort  to 
stops  which  would  produce  the  needed  tones  as  accessories  to  the  Diapason 
stops  themselves.  Mixtures  Mere  the  result;  like  all  good  things  their 
purpose  was  misunderstood  by  some — with  the  result  that  they  were  in  some 
examples  simply  intolerable:  screaming,  noisy,  un-musical  things.  Present- 
day  taste  has  now  swung  to  the  other  extreme,  and  many  organs  are  being 
built  without  any  mixtures  whatsoever;  this  is  to  be  regretted,  as  they  are 
of  great  value  when  properly  designed,  scaled,  and  voiced.  (Rauschquint, 
Cornet,  Acuta,  Full  Mixture)  =  Where  not  present,  add  in  the  order  needed: 
4  ft.  stops,  2  ft.  stops,  and  if  essential,  super  couplers. 

Montre — French  name  for  Diapason,  which  see. 

Mutation   Stop — Generic  term  for  Mixture  stops,  which  see. 


DICTIONARY    OF    ORGAN    STOPS 


!M 


.. 


A 


C 


U 


D 


FIG.  30. 

(i,  Oboe;  b,  Salicional;  c,  Trumpet;  d,  Vox  Humana. 


92  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

Muted  Viol — see  Viol  Sourdine. 

Oboe— 8  ft.,  occasionally  16  ft.,  4  ft. 

Without  doubt  the  most  used  reed  stop  in  organs,  and  while  it  is  rarely  a 
good  imitation  of  the  orchestral  instrument  (barring  the  few  successful  Orches- 
tral Oboe  specimens)  it  is  a  solo  stop  par  excellence,  and  generally  a  fair  com- 
binational stop.  Generally  found  in  the  Swell  organ;  when  of  the  Orchestral 
type  it  possesses  no  combining  ability  whatsoever.  (Hautboy,  Hautbois, 
Hoboe,  Echo  Oboe,  Oboe  d' Amour)  =  A  fair  substitute  in  solo  work  is  the 
combination  of  Salicional  and  4  ft.  Flute,  or— better  still— Clarinet  and  4  ft 
Flute. 

Octave — 4  ft.,  manual;  8  ft.,  pedal. 

Name  given  to  octave  stops  of  the  Diapason  family  on  the  manuals  and 
pedals  respectively.  See  Diapason. 

Octave  Coupler — see  Coupler. 

Piccolo— 2  ft. 

A  super-octave  stop  of  fluty  tone,  more  liquid  and  pleasing  than  the  Fif- 
teenth and  fuller  than  either  the  Flageolet  or  Flautina;  usually  on  either  the 
Choir  or  Swell  organs.    (Piccolo  Harmonic). 

=  Fifteenth,  Flageolet,  Flautina,  or  super  couple  if  necessary. 

Posaune  (Trombone)— 8  ft.,   16  ft.  (Contra   Posaune.)     Also   on    Pedal 
organ  where  the  Contra  term  denotes  a  32  ft.  stop. 
A  reed  stop  of  Trombone  quality,  sometimes  rather  rough;  a  cross  beween 
the  smooth  Tuba  and  the  more  cutting  Trumpet.  =Trumpet,  Tuba,  Tromba, 
Cornopean,  Trumpet  and  Diapason. 

Principal — 4  ft. 

Same  as  Octave  Diapason.   See  Diapason. 

Quint—  10— 2-3rds  ft.,  5— l-3rd  ft.,  2— 2-3rds  ft. 

A  mutation  stop  sounding  the  interval  of  the  fifth  above  the  unison  pitch; 
the  2 — 2-3rds  ft.  variety  is  the  most  common — and  speaks  the  octave — 
fifth  above  unison — thus  filling  up  the  harmonic  series.  The  10 — 2-3rds  ft. 
form  is  found  frequently  on  the  Pedal  organ  where  it  produces,  in  combination 
with  the  16  ft.  stops,  a  soft  Resultant  32  ft.  effect.  (Acoustic  Bass,  Harmonic 
Bass;  rarely:  Gravissima  and  Gravitone)  =  Some  players  achieve  the  effect — 
on  rare  instances  where  it  is  felt  to  be  absolutely  necessary — by  playing  the 
interval  of  the  fifth  above  on  the  pedals  along  with  the  pedal  notes.  This 
should  be  resorted  to  most  infrequently. 

Quintaton— 8  ft.     Rarely  16  ft.,  4  ft. 

A  stop  composed  of  closed  pipes  voiced  to  sound  the  interval  of  the  twelfth, 
or  octave-fifth,  above  and  with  the  prime  tone,  giving  something  of  the 
effect  of  two  pipes  speaking  at  once;  a  very  valuable  combinational  stop,  and 
occasionally  of  solo  value.  (Quintadena,  Quintaten,  Quintaden)  =  No  sub- 
stitutes possible,  but  soft  Viols  are  recommended  where  the  stop  is  especially 
called  for. 

Resultant  Bass— 32  ft. 

The  effect  produced  by  the  combination  of  the  Pedal  16  ft.    Open  Diapason 


DICTIONARY    OF    ORGAN    STOPS  93 

and  a  10 — 2-3rds  ft.  Quint  stop;  the  coincidence  of  beats  of  different  frequency 
gives  rise  to  the  effect  of  a  32  ft.  tone.    See  Quint. 

Rohrfloete  (Chimney  Flute)— 8  ft.     See  Flute. 

Salicional— 8  ft..  16  ft.,  4  ft. 

Stops  originally  of  horny  timbre,  later  voiced  somewhat  stringy  and  at 
present  varying  from  this  quasi-stringy  quality  to  a  frankly  and  decidedly 
stringy  tone.  They  were  developed  from  the  Gamba  tribe  and  from  them 
have  been  developed  the  modern  Viols.  They  still  appear  in  many  organs 
as  the  only  strings  included — partly  because  they  combine  with  other  stops 
rather  better  than  do  the  true  Viols.  (Salicet,  Gambette)  =  Viols,  or  soft 
Gambas. 

Spitzfloete— 8  ft. 

Of  a  peculiarly  thin,  nasal  quality  of  flute  tone;  very  useful. 
=  Any  soft  flute  may  substitute;  very  soft  Salicional  (or  Aeoline)  and  Soft 
Flute  sometimes  good. 

Stopped  Diapason — 16  ft.,  8  ft.,  4  ft.     See  Gedeckt. 

Super  Octave — Name  used  for  the  Fifteenth,  which  see. 

Tibia — Various  pitches. 

A  tribe  of  foundational  stops  claim  this  title — all  of  them  inclining  more  or 
less  to  the  Flute  quality;  the  name  has  been  in  use  for  some  years,  but  the 
most  recent  and  striking  examples  of  Tibias  are  to  be  found  among  the  devel- 
opments of  the  late  Robert  Hope-Jones.  Tibia  Clausa:  a  very  large  scale 
Gedeckt  of  copious  liquid  tone.  Tibia  Plena :  similar,  but  of  open  pipes. 
Tibia  Dura:  tone  bright  and  clear,  if  somewhat  hard,  and  quite  penetrating. 
Tibia  Minor:  somewhat  akin  to  the  Tibia  Clausa,  but  softer.  Tibia  Major:  a 
full  toned  and  powerful  flute,  similar  to  the  Hohlfloete.  Tibia  Profunda,  gen- 
erally a  Pedal  stop  of  one  of  the  above. 

=  Powerful  flute  stops,  or  Diapasons  and  Flutes  as  substitutes. 

Tremulant — Also  more  generally  Tremolo. 

A  mechanical  device  for  imparting  a  wave-like  motion  to  the  wind  supplying 
the  organ — thus  producing  a  delightful  undulatory  effect  from  the  pipes;  a 
perfect  Tremulant  is  a  rarity,  but  when  achieved  is  a  real  delight.  Found  in 
all  organs,  large  or  small. 

Tromba — see  Tuba. 

Trombone — see  Tuba. 

Trumpet — 8  ft.,  also  16  ft. 

A  powerful  reed  stop  usually  found  on  the  Great  organ;  tone  is  cutting,  bla- 
tant in  many  instances  and  many  times  thinner  than  that  of  its  orchestral 
namesake.  The  modern  Tuba  is  a  vastly  better  stop  in  every  way.  =Full 
complement  of  stops  or  all  the  8  ft.  stops. 

Tuba— 16  ft.,  8  ft.,  4  ft. 

Reed  stops  of  thick,  fat  tone — often  the  most  powerful  stops  in  the  organ; 
the  quality  is  smoother,  warmer,  more  rounded  and  in  every  way  better  than 


94  A    PRIMER   OF   ORGAN   REGISTRATION 

the  Trumpet — which  stop  the  Tuba  is  fast  supplanting.  The  Tuba  Mirabilis 
(wonderful)  voiced  on  very  heavy  wind  pressure,  dominates  the  whole  of  a 
large  organ ;  tremendously  effective  to  imitate  the  brass  section  of  the  orches- 
tra. =  Any  powerful  reed  (Trumpet  or  Cornopean)  combined  with  Diapasons 
and  heavy  Flutes  may  be  used  for  substitute. 

Twelfth— 2— 2-3rds  ft. 

Mutation  stop  similar  to  the  Quint — which  see.    No  substitutes. 

Unda  Maris— 8  ft. 

The  name  is  carelessly  used  in  this  country;  some  denote  by  it  a  Celeste 
stop  of  Flute  pipes  (Spitzfloete  or  Clarabella  pipes),  while  at  least  one 
builder  is  using  it  for  a  Celeste  stop  composed  of  two  ranks  of  Aeoline  or  soft 
Dulciana  pipes  and  of  exceedingly  beautiful  tone.  However,  there  is  a  degree 
of  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  one  may  expect  a  soft  Celeste  of  one  or  the  other 
qualities  of  tone!  =  Use  a  soft  Flute,  Dulciana  or  Aeoline. 

Viol  Da  Gamba — see  Gamba. 

Viol  D'Orchestre— 8  ft.     Also  Contra  Viol— 16  ft. 

The  organ  has  been  wonderfully  enriched  of  recent  years  by  the  develop- 
ment of  the  modern  family  of  keen-toned  viols,  or  string  stops.  Founded  upon 
the  Gamba  and  Salicional  type  they  have  been  developed  to  a  point  where  the 
tone  is  of  delightful  keenness  and— in  the  best  examples — they  achieve  a 
particularly  happy  imitation  of  the  solo  Violin— especially  when  they  are  in 
the  Celeste  form,  the  slight  wavering  or  vibrato  of  the  tone  recalling  the  wrist- 
vibrato  of  the  violinist.  The  Contra  Viol  is  a  stop  that  is  found  all  too  rarely. 
(Viola,  Viola  d'Orchestra,  Cello,  Violoncello,  String)  =  Salicionals  or  Gambas. 

Viol  Sourdine— 8  ft. 

The  thinnest  tone  obtainable  from  a  flue  pipe;  the  Viol  stop  pushed  to  its 
extremest  limit.  Tone  beautifully  quiet,  soft  but  penetrating— and  with  a 
real  suggestion  of  the  "resin  in  the  tone!"  (Muted  Viol.)  Of  most  ethereal 
beauty  when  in  the  Celeste  form. 

=  Aeoline  or  Dulciana  as  substitute. 

Violone— 16  ft. 

Generally  a  Pedal  string  stop — imitative  of  the  double-bass  of  the  orchestra; 
the  tone  possesses  some  of  the  weight  of  the  Double  Dulciana,  but  has  more  cut 
to  it— in  fact  in  many  examples  the  "rasp  of  the  bow"  is  plainly  recognizable. 
=  Bourdons  or  Gedeckts. 

Violoncello— 8  ft 

Most  often  a  pedal  stop,  sometimes  the  upper  extension  of  the  Violone; 
tone  quite  imitative  of  the  orchestral  'Cello,  and  lends  a  fine  incisiveness  to  the 
Pedal  Organ.  (Cello)  =  Bass  Flute,  or  couple  a  manual  String  stop  to  the 
Pedals. 

Vox  Celeste — see  Celeste. 

Vox  Humana— 8  ft.     Occasionally  16  ft. 

A  reed  stop,  originally  supposed  to  imitate  the  human  voice;  this  it  does 
not  do  and  never  did,  but— being  of  a  thin,  nasal,  smothered  quality— some 
good  people  are  led  (by  the  assistance  which  the  name  gives  to  the  imagina- 


DICTIONARY    OF   ORGAN    STOPS  95 

tion!)  to  think  that  the  resemblance  is  really  achieved.  However,  it  is  (despite 
all  the  abuse  which  has  been  hurled  upon  it)  a  valuable  stop,  particularly  when 
used  in  combination  with  modern  String  and  Flute  Celeste  stops,  and  when  so 
used  has  the  faculty  of  adding  to  the  tone  a  suggestion  of  the  "resin  of  the 
strings"  of  the  orchestra.  It  must  be  admitted,  too,  that  in  especially  fine 
examples,  and  in  locations  where  the  acoustic  conditions  are  particularly 
favorable,  there  is  often  a  considerable  resemblance  in  the  lower  octaves  to 
the  tone  of  a  male  choir  heard  from  afar.  (Voix  Humaine)  =  Clarinet  and  4  ft. 
Flute  with  Tremolo  and  Swell-shades  closed  sometimes  give  a  passable  imi- 
tation of  the  Vox  Humana;  otherwise  use  Strings, 

Wald  Flute  (Waldfloete)— 8  ft.,  4  ft. 

Valuable  as  a  solo  stop;  tone  slightly  horny  but  of  some  little  volume  and 
very  pleasing.  In  some  examples  the  voicing  is  similar  to  the  Gross 
Flute:  this  is  not  to  be  encouraged.  (Feldflbte)  =  Any  medium  strength  Flute 
may  substitute. 


THE  MUSIC  STUDENTS 
LIBRARY 

A  series  of  Educational  Text-Books  suited  to  the 
requirements  of  the  average  student  and  covering 
every  essential  branch  of  musical  instrution. 


PIANO  r 

Burrowes'    Piano     Primer.      Ered.     Field    Bullard,     Ed. 

Enlarged    edition    with    pronouncing    dictionary.        $1  00 

do Paper  50 

Ears,   Brain  and  Fingers.      Howard  Wells.  Combines  ear 

training  with  piano  technic Illus.  1  25 

Half  Hour  Lessons  in  Music.  Mrs.  Hermann  Kotzsch- 
mar.  Class  work  and  games  for  beginners.  For 
teachers  and  mothers Illus.         1  25 

Interpretation  of  Piano  Music.  Mary  Venable. 
Studies  in  the  meaning  of  printed  signs  used  in 
music,  and  their  bearing  on  the  interpretation  of 
standard  works 2  00 

Natural  Laws  in  Piano  Technic.  Mary  Wood  Chase. 
Presents  the  essential  laws  of  a  sound  piano 
technic Illus.  1   50 

Piano      Teaching:      Its      Principles       and      Problems. 

Clarence  G.  Hamilton,  A.M.    Written  by  a  practi- 
cal man  to  meet  practical  needs Illus.  1  50 

ORGAN 

Primer  of  Organ  Registration.  Gordon  Balch  Nevin. 
Clear,  concise,  fully  illustrated  and  with  inter- 
locking Dictionary  of    Organ    Stops 150 

VIOLIN 

How     to     Master     the    Violin.        Pavel  L.   Bytovetzski. 

A  practical  guide  for  students  and  teachers.  .  .  Illus.  1  25 

How  to  Study  Kreutzer.  Benjamin  Cutter.  What 
every  violin  teacher  discusses  and  illustrates  in 
the  lesson  room 1   00 

Note: — These  books  are  bound  in  neat,  serviceable  cloth. 

VOICE 

A  B  C  of  Music.     Auguste  Mathieu  Panseron.      (Ed.  by 

N.  C.  Page.)      A  standard  primer  of  vocalization  1  50 

Commonplaces  of  Vocal  Art.  Louis  Arthur  Russell. 
The  plain  truths  of  vocal  art  presented  in  simple 
untcchnical  language 1  25 


English    Diction    for    Singers    and    Speakers.      Louis  R 
Arthur  Russell.     For  all  who  seek  refined  or  artis- 
tic use  of  the  English  language 1   25 

French  Diction  for  Singers  and  Speakers.  William 
Harkness  Arnold.  The  elements  of  French 
pronunciation  reduced  to  a  few  fundamental 
principles,  readily  mastered 1  25 

Head  Voice  and  Other  Problems.      D.  A.  Clippinger 125 

PRACTICAL  TALKS  ON   SINGING 

Resonance  in  Singing  and  Speaking.  Thomas  Fille- 
brown,  M.D.  An  exposition  of  fundamentals, 
with  breathing,  and  vocal  exercises Illus.         1  50 

Training  of  Boys'  Voices.      Claude  Ellsworth  Johnson. 

A  guide  to  the  correct  "placing"  of  boys' voices..  . .  1   00 

Twelve  Lessons  in  the  Fundamentals  of  Voice  Pro- 
duction. Arthur  L.  Manchester.  Presents 
clearly  the  fundamentals  illustrated  by  exercises.  1   25 

EAR  TRAINING,  HARMONY  AND  COUNTERPOINT 

Ear  Training  for  Teacher  and  Pupil.  C.  A.  Alchin. 
Designed  to  teach  the  pupil  to  think  in  tones, 
and  so  to  sing,  name,  write,  and  play  what  he 
hears 1   50 

Intervals,  Chords,  and  Ear  Training.  Jean  Parkman 
Brown.  Exercises  and  examples  in  rudimentary 
harmony  and  ear  training  for  use  in  conjunction 
with  piano  study 1   25 

Harmony.  Sir  John  Stainer,  Mus.  Doc.  A  standard 
text-book  presenting  the  principles  of  harmony 
with  conciseness  and  lucidity 1  50 

Harmony  Simplified.  Francis  L.  York.  A  practical 
text-book  presenting  in  a  concise  manner  the 
fundamental  principles  of  harmony,  with  non- 
essentials omitted 1  50 

Manual  of  Harmony.  Ernst  Friedrich  Richter.  Trans, 
by  J.  C.  D.  Parker.  A  practical  guide  to  the  study 
of  harmony 2   00 

Harmonic  Analysis.  Benjamin  Cutter.  Teaches  one 
to  analyze  the  harmonic  structure  of  both  classic 
and  modern  music 1  50 

Counterpoint.  Sir  J.  Frederick  Bridge.  Combines  fresh- 
ness and  plainness  with  thoroughness 150 

Counterpoint  Simplified.  Francis  L.  York.  A  con- 
cise text-book  of  formal  counterpoint.  (Sequel 
to  author's  "Harmony  Simplified") 1  50 


Guide   to   Musical    Composition.      H.    Wohlfahrt.     Tr.  r 
by  J.  S.  Dwight.  On  the  invention  of  melodies,  their 
transformation,  development  and  suitable  accom- 
paniment             I   25 

FORM,  INSTRUMENTATION  AND  ACOUSTICS 

Instrumentation.  Ebenezer  Prout,  Mus.  Doc.  A  val- 
uable guide  and  assistant  to  students  who  wish 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  proper  blending  of 
orchestral  instruments,  their  compass,  capabilities, 
etc 1   50 

Lessons  in  Music  Form.  Percy  Goetschius.  Mus.  Doc. 
A  manual  of  analysis  of  all  the  structural  factors 
and  designs  employed  in  musical  composition 150 

Musical  Forms.  Ernest  Pauer.  A  compendium  of  the 
various  styles  or  species  of  composition  with 
analysis  of  their  structure 1  50 

Sound  and  Its  Relation  to  Music.  Clarence  G.  Hamil- 
ton, A.M.  A  handbook  of  acoustics  as  relating 
to  music.  Based  on  the  latest  discoveries  and 
experiments.   Fully  illustrated 1  50 

CONDUCTING,  HISTORY,  MUSIC  APPRECIATION 
AND  DEFINITIONS 

Essentials  in  Conducting.  Karl  W.  Gehrkens,  A.M. 
On  personal  requirements,  technic  of  the  baton, 
interpretation,  rehearsing,   program   making,    etc.  1  50 

(hi  I  lines  of  Music  History.  Clarence  G.  Hamilton,  A.M. 
A  compact,  clearcut  work  for  class  use  and  the 
general  reader.     Fully  illustrated 1  75 

Music  Appreciation.  Clarence  G.  Hamilton,  A.M. 
Based  on  methods  of  literary  criticism,  this  unique 
text-book  is  for  those  who  wish  to  listen  to  music 
with  quickened  hearing  and  real  understanding. 
With  24  portraits,  28  diagrams  and  over  200 
music  cuts 1  75 

Music  Club  Programs  from  All  Nations.  Arthur  Elson. 
Outlines  the  various  schools  from  all  nations  with  a 
rich  series  of  programs  and  over  one  hundred  por- 
traits    1  75 

Some  Essentials  in  Musical    Definitions.      M.  F.  Mac- 

Connell.  A  manual  of  definite  information  con- 
cerning the  points  every  music  .student  should  be 
sure  of 1  25 


mT 


H4^ 


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